UC-NRLF 


^B    72    D7M 


NAVAL. 


A  BRIEF  HISTORY 


AN  EXISTING  CONTROVERSY 


.  -1 


•  >  ^  •>    • 


ASSIMILATED    KANK 


NAVY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


BY  W.  S.  W.  R, 


PHILADELPHIA: 

C.    SHERMAN,    PRINTER. 
1850. 


V^6  3/, 


1f^\ 


RANK,  PRECEDENCE,  AND  COMMAND. 


At  the  present  time  the  subject  ^^^f  th(^%rank  *aii3  pre- 
cedence which  exist,  or  should  exist,- •^amotig"  the  officers  of 
different  vocations  employed  in  th^  military  servj*c?^.pf't;he 
country,  is  interesting  to  all  in  the'  army  and  navy  of  the 
United  States.  Gentlemen  of  intelligence  have  directed  at- 
tention to  the  different  questions  involved,  and  entertain 
opposite  opinions  upon  many  points.  It  is  desirable  that 
these  differences  of  opinion  should  be  set  at  rest;  while 
they  are  agitated,  they  lead,  perhaps,  to  unkindness  of 
feeling,  for  which  there  is  really  no  occasion.  It  seems  to 
be  generally  agreed  that  these  differences  should  be  fairly 
presented  and  referred  to  the  National  Legislature  for  con- 
sideration and  decision.  It  is  presumed  all  are  desirous  of  a 
decision  which  will  be  in  accordance  with  the  interests  of 
the  country,  and  justice  to  individuals ;  and  it  is  hoped  no 
one  seeks  peculiar  advantage  or  favour  to  the  injury  of  his 
associates  in  the  public  service. 

The  writer  designs  to  present  his  views  on  the  subject  in 
connexion  with  the  navy,  of  which  he  is  an  humble  member. 
Whether  erroneous  or  true,  his  opinions  are  honestly  enter- 
tained, and  he  hopes  his  expression  of  them  will  prove 
inoffensive.  His  remarks  will  be  based  on  pamphlets  which 
have  been  circulated  among  members  of  Congress,  entitled 
as  follows : — 

No.  1.  Bemarhs  on  Relative  Ranh  in  the  Navy.  8vo.  pp.  8. 
(Attributed  to  a  justly  esteemed  and  accomplished  com- 
mander.) 

No.  2.  Assimilated  Ranh  in  the  Navy.  A  reply  to  an  Ap- 
peal hy  Ninian  Pinhney,  Surgeon  U.  S.  N,  to  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  relative  to  the  ranh  of  Surgeons  and  Pursers. 


^  4 

By  ag'imior  sm^ffidsi^    8vo.  pp^,^^.     (Attributed  to  a  passed- 


Jhe  following  extract  from  tlie\roceedings  of  Congress, 
^^|l^|jM||tld  ii^die'^^^NatiiMial  Intelligencer,"  will  be  con- 

•  Thursday,  July  18,  1850. 

Mr.  Evans,  of  Maryland,  from  the  committee  on  Military  Affairs,  re- 
ported the  following  resolution,  which  was  agreed  to : 

Resolved,  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  and  he  is  hereby 
requested  to  communicate  to  this  House  his  views  of  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations which  should  be  established  by  law  upon  the  following  subjects,  viz.: 

The  gradations  of  rank  for  the  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers  of 
the  militfii'y  staff  and  th^^  ,li6e  :of  the  army. 

The  order  of  succeseif^n:  tfg ,  command  among  the  officers  and  non-commis- 
sioned ofaG(?rs  of  -the  ^army.  .    ,   . 

The  ordei*  of  ''precedenc'S.  tetwe«n  the  officers  of  the  non-military  staff  of 
the  army  and  the  officers  of  the'  army  having  staff  or  lineal  rank. 

The  extent  to  which  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers  of  the  staff  in 
the  army  shall  be  subject  to  the  command  of  officers  and  non-commissioned 
officers  of  the  line  of  the  army. 

The  gradations  of  ranh  for  the  sea  officers  and  petty  officers  of  the  navy. 

The  order  of  precedence  between  the  sea  officers  and  the  engineers  and 
civil  officers  of  the  navy. 

The  extent  to  which  the  civil  officers  and  engineers  of  the  navy  shall  be 
subject  to  the  command  of  the  sea  officers  of  the  navy. 

The  relative  rank  of  the  officers  of  the  army  and  of  the  navy. 

The  order  of  precedence  between  the  non-military  staff  officers  of  the  army 
and  the  engineers  and  ci\'il  officers  of  the  navy.  .  ■■>        •,  •  <; u ,- , 

Precision,  in  the  use  of  terms,  is  essential  to  perspicuity ; 
no  law  can  be  explicit,  if  stated  in  words  of  uncertain 
meaning.  The  language  of  the  resolution  quoted  above 
seems  to  the  writer  defective  in  this  respect.     But  as  these 

*  The  following  appeared  in  the  **  North  American  and  United  States  Gazette," 
Philadelphia,  August  2,  1860.  It  is,  in  part,  the  cause  of  printing  the  present  obser- 
vatiQcts. 

House  of  Representatives  of  the  U.  S. 
August  1, 1860. 
To  the  Editors  of  the  North  American  and  U.  S.  Gazette : — Gentlemen — In  your  paper 
of  Monday,  a  correspondent,  "  R,"  in  an  article  expressed  in  good  temper,  makes 
some  remarks  upon  a  resolution  passed  by  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States,  upon  my  motion. 

He  appears  to  think  the  part  relating  to  the  naval  service  not  altogether  pre- 
cise ;  though  he  acknowledges  that  it  may  seem  hypercriticism  to  say  so. 

I  have  taken  pains  to  make  the  resolution  specific ;  and  I  send  you  a  copy,  in  order 
that  it  may  be  criticised  by  the  profession. 

I  invite  comment  upon  it  before  action  by  the  President  of  the  United  States ;  as 
by  that  action  I  desire  all  questions  of  rank,  command  and  precedence,  to  be  finally 
settled.  Very  respectfully, 

Alexander  Evans. 


terms  are  commonly  employed  by  officers  in  the  navy,  Mi. 
Evans  cannot  be  held  justly  amenable  for  their  use;  never 
theless,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  they  are  erroneous. 

The  term  "sea  officers,''  it  is  presumed,  means  officers. of 
the  line  in  the  navy ;  all  officers  who  serve  at  sea  in  the 
navy  might  be  designated  as  "  sea  officers/'  without  violating 
the  use  of  language.  •     -^^   :     ;      . 

The  term  "jpetty  officers'  is  u^dd  in  the  navy  to  designate 
those  who  are  selected,  from  amongst  the  ship's  crew,  to 
serve  as  boatswains',  gunners',  carpenters',  and  sail-makers' 
mates;  captains  of  tops,  quartermasters,  quarter-gunners, 
&c.,  &c.  Their  appointments  exist  only  during  the  continu- 
ance of  the  cruise,  and  are  frequently  revoked  by  the  com- 
mander for  misbehaviour ;  the  petty  officers  thus  "  dis-rated" 
are  stationed  among  the  seamen,  and  are  not  otherwise  dis- 
tinguished from  the  rest  of  the  crew.  "  Petty  officers'  in  the 
navy,  in  a  degree,  correspond  with  the  "  non-commissioned 
officers"  in  the  army :  they  have  neither  commissions  nor 
warrants ;  their  appointments  are  not  permanent,  but  depend 
upon  period  of  enlistment,  and  pleasure  of  the  captain. 

The  class  of  "warrant  officers"  includes  masters,  midship- 
men and  passed-midshipmen,  boatswains,  gunners,  carpen- 
ters, sail-makers,  and  masters'  mates. 

The  term  "forivard officers" embraces  boatswains,  gunners, 
carpenters,  sail-makers,  masters'  mates,  &c.  It  might  be 
a  question  whether  the  term  "petty  officers,"  used  in  the 
resolution,  is  designed  to  apply  exclusively  to  the  grades  of 
"warrant  officers"  last  named,  or  whether  it  is  designed  to 
include  all  officers  of  every  description,  except  "  commission- 
officers."  The  exact  object  of  this  part  of  the  resolution  is 
not  made  clear,  by  reference  to  the  legal  definition  of  the 
term  "petty  officers."  The  law  says,  "All  officers,  not  hold- 
ing commissions  or  warrants,  or  who  are  not  entitled  to 
them,  except  such  as  are  temporarily  appointed  to  the  duties 
of  a  commissioned  or  warrant  officer,  are  deemed  petty 
officers."* 

The  term  "  civil"  cannot  be  very  properly  applied  to  any 
grade  or  grades  of  officers,  included  in  a  military  organiza- 
tion, and  subject  to  military  laws  and  military  tribunals. 
The  term  "  civil"  is  more  legitimately  applied  to  officers  of  a 

*  An  act  for  the  better  government  of  the  Navy.    Sec.  1,  Art.  33.    Approved  April 
23,  1800. 


civil  government,  including  the  various  officials  appointed 
for  the  administration  of  civil  laws,  such  as  judges,  marshals, 
sheriffs,  constables,  &c.  The  only  officers  connected  with 
the  navy,  to  whom  the  term  "civil"  may  be  legitimately 
applied,  are  those  who  are  not  amenable  to  miHtary  laws  and 
courts ;  including  navy  agents,  naval  storekeepers,  &c. 

From  the  position  of  the  word  "  engineers"  in  the  resolu- 
tion, it  may  be  inferred  that  its  author  did  not  regard  them 
as  belonging  either  to  the  class  of  "  sea  officers"  or  to  the 
class  of  "  civil  officers."  Yet  it  may  be  suggested  that  offi- 
cers who  manage  the  machinery  of  a  steamer  at  sea,  may  be 
designated  "  sea  officers"  with  as  much  propriety,  in  the  com- 
mon use  of  language,  as  those  officers  who  manage  the 
machinery  of  a  sailing  ship. 

To  illustrate  the  importance  of  the  precise  use  of  language 
in  legislation,  the  following  sentences  are  quoted  from  a 
printed  pamphlet,  addressed  by  Commander  L.  M.  Golds- 
borough,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  (Hon.  J.  Y.  Mason,) 
Washington  City,  January  27, 1848,  on  the  question  of  assimi- 
lated rank.  "  In  the  Act  of  February  7,  1815,  the  President 
is  authorized  to  create  a  Board  of  Commissioners,  to  be  con- 
stituted of  three  officers  of  the  navy,  whose  i-anh  shall  not 
be  below  a  post  captain.  Does  not  this  carry  with  it  the 
necessary  implication  that  rank  has  already  been  fixed,  and 
has  become  a  matter  of  legal  right  ?"  A  negative  answer  to 
the  question  was  maintained  in  the  following  terms : 

"It  is  suggested  that  legislators  are  not  all  skilled  in  philology,  and  do 
not  always  use  such  words  as  will  best  convey  their  meaning.  The  design 
and  purpose  of  this  portion  of  the  Act  would  have  been  attained,  and  as 
clearly  understood,  had  the  framer  of  the  law  substituted  the  word  grade  for 
the  word  rank,  which  words  are  not  exactly  synonymous  in  their  acceptation. 
If  the  Act  had  read,  *  the  Board  shall  consist  of  three  officers  of  the  Navy, 
whose  grade  shall  not  be  below  a  post  captain,^  what  effect  would  it  have 
had  on  the  constitution  of  said  Board  ?  and  what  would  have  been  its  effect 
on  the  argument  of  our  opponents  ?  If  we  were  to  say  the  military  branch 
of  the  navy  [the  line  of  the  navy]  is  composed  of  three  grades  or  degrees^ 
namely,  the  grade  of  captains,  the  grade  of  commanders,  and  the  grade  of 
lieutenants,  and  that  the  officers  of  these  respective  grades  ranked,  that  is, 
were  placed  in  order,  or  arrangement,  or  precedence,  with  each  other,  accord- 
ing to  number  or  date  of  commission,  and  that  the  grade  of  captains  ranked 
before  the  grade  of  commanders,  and  the  latter  ranked  before  the  grade  of 
lieutenants,  we  should  be  clearly  understood. 

"As  the  intention  of  the  law  is  not  varied  by  the  substitution  of  a  word, 
it  cannot  be  inevitably  inferred  that  rank  was  fixed  by  law,  as  the  term  is 


understood  by  our  opponents.  We  might  even  suppose  the  word  class  sub- 
stituted for  ra7ik  in  the  law,  and  still  perceive  that  the  intention  of  the  Act 
could  not  be  misconstrued,  namely,  that  the  Board  would  be  constituted  of 
three  post  captains ;  consequently,  although  we  contend  that  the  Executive 
has  a  constitutional  right  to  declare  that  surgeons  and  pursers  shall  have 
•assimilated  rank  with  post  captains,  it  would  not  follow  that  he  could 
legally  regard  surgeons  and  pursers  as  members  of  the  grade  or  class  of  cap- 
tains, and  therefore  be  authorized  to  substitute  surgeons  and  pursers  for  cap- 
tains, as  Navy  Commissioners.  The  premises  are  false — such  argument  is 
absurd." 

It  may  be  urged  in  reply,  that  the  above  is  a  merely  verbal 
hypercriticism,  because  the  terms  are  understood  in  the  navy. 
But  it  may  also  be  rejoined  that  these  terms  do  not  carry  the 
same  uniform  meaning  to  all  persons  in  the  navy ;  and  for 
this  reason  they  lead  to  erroneous  inferences  as  to  the  intent 
of  law,  and  give  rise  to  useless  discussions,  differences,  dis- 
agreements, and  even  contests.  It  is  desirable  that  in  legis- 
lation, synonymous  terms  should  be  avoided ;  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, only  exactly  defined  words  should  be  employed  in 
stating  a  law.  A  word  or  term  always  represents  an  idea ; 
if  the  term  is  false  in  its  application,  it  will  give  rise  to 
erroneous  impressions. 

The  language  of  the  resolution,  which  applies  to  the  several 
classes  in  the  army,  is  quite  precise.  The  reason  for  this 
difference  of  precision  in  the  use  of  terms,  which  may  be 
considered  technical,  is,  that  there  is  really  no  systematic 
arrangement  of  the  grades  of  officers  of  the  navy  into  classes, 
in  accordance  with  the  nature  of  their  respective  functions. 
If  such  an  arrangement  were  devised,  it  would  probably  be 
found  there  would  be  no  proper  use  for  the  terms  "  sea  offi- 
cers" and  "civil  officers;"  that  all  officers  included  in  the 
naval  organization  would  be  embraced,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
army,  in  the  two  grand  divisions  of  officers  of  the  line,  and 
officers  of  the  staff  corps,  which  would  comprise  the  corps  of 
medical  officers,  chaplains,  pursers,  engineers,  &c.,  &c. 

MILITARY  TERMS. 

In  this  connexion,  it  may  be  entertaining  if  not  instruc- 
tive to  define  some  of  the  terms  used  by  writers  on  military 
subjects. 

An  Army,  is  a  body  of  men  armed  and  trained  to  fight  the 
enemies  of  the  country  on  land,  either  in  defence  or  aggres- 
sion. 


r8 

A  Navy,  is  a  body  of  men  armed  and  trained  in  ships  to 
fight  the  enemy  on  the  seas. 

Military  Men. — All  men  who  are  necessary  to  complete  a 
military  organization,  whether  for  an  army  or  navy,  are 
military  men,  because  they  are  governed  by  military  laws. 
The  military  character  of  men  of  an  army  or  navy,  is  not 
dependent  upon  the  nature  of  their  duties ;  but  grows  out  of 
the  military  manner  or  fashion  according  to  which  their 
duties  are  performed.  In  an  army  or  navy,  every  man  acts 
according  to  military  regulation ;  he  eats,  drinks,  sleeps, 
dresses,  and  moves  his  body;  he  takes  medicine  even,  sub- 
mits to  surgical  treatment  when  necessary;  worships  God, 
dies  and  is  buried,  all  according  to  military  rule.  A  military 
spirit  and  manner  extend  through  every  department  and 
^ramification  of  every  well-constituted  military  community, 
of  which  no  member  can  be,  correctly  speaking,  a  civil  officer, 
or  civilian.  The  60th  article  of  war  provides  that  "  all  per- 
sons whatsoever,  serving  with  the  armies  of  the  United  States 
in  the  field,  though  not  enlisted  soldiers,  are  to  be  subject  to 
orders  according  to  the  rules  and  discipline  of  war." 

Military  Law, — A  rule  established  by  the  Legislature  to 
govern  members  of  the  military  organizations  of  the  country. 

Martial  Law, — Is  no  law,  but  the  arbitrarj^  exercise  of 
power  by  military  men  over  citizens  without  regard  to  civil 
laws,  either  statute  or  common.  There  is  a  wide  distinction 
drawn  between  military  law  and  martial  law.  There  are 
times  when  public  danger  warrants  a  resort  to  rigorous  and 
summary  methods  not  recognised  in  civil  law;  and  then 
military  chiefs  are  sustained  in  suspending  the  operation  of 
civil  law  and  substituting  their  own  will,  and  arbitrary  enact- 
ments for  it. 

Military  Command, — Aright  to  enforce  obedience  is  neces- 
sary to  constitute  legal  authority,  civil  or  military,  to  direct 
the  actions  of  others.  Military  command  consists  essentially 
in  a  legal  right  to  exact  obedience,  under  the  penalties  pro- 
vided by  military  laws.  In  this  view,  any  act  whatever,  the 
performance  of  which  can  be  rightfully  compelled  by  military 
law,  is  a  military  act :  washing,  cooking,  sweeping,  scrubbing, 
horse-shoeing,  surveying  land,  building  houses,  erecting  forts, 
are  as  much  military  acts,  when  their  performance  can  be 
enforced  by  military  laws,  as  charging  and  firing  cannons  or 
muskets  in  the  face  of  an  enemy.     Splicing  a  rope,  washing 


9 

decks,  and  painting,  setting  and  taking  in  sail,  are  daily  acts 
both  in  merchant  vessels  and  ships-of-war ;  on  board  the 
former,  they  are  civil  acts,  because  the  order  or  command  to 
execute  them  is  sustained  only  by  the  civil  law ;  but  on  board 
of  the  latter,  it  can  be  enforced  only  by  military  law,  and 
thus  commonplace  acts  of  civil  life  are  converted  into  mili- 
tary duties  and  performances.  In  this  sense,  military  com- 
mand and  naval  command  are  synonymous,  although  the 
former  term  by  custom  is  commonly  restricted  to  an  army 
on  shore,  the  military  character  of  the  navy  not  being  gene- 
rally perceived.  In  common  parlance,  the  navy  is  not  in- 
cluded as  a  branch  of  "  the  military  profession;"  nevertheless, 
it  is  essentially  a  military  service,  and  should  be  so  considered 
always  by  legislators. 

Military  Discipline, — The  practical  observance  of  the  re- 
quirements of  military  laws,  rules,  and  regulations ;  and  this 
implies  a  prompt  obedience  of  the  lawful  commands  of  supe- 
riors in  authority,  and  due  respect  to  all,  according  to  their 
grade  and  rank.  To  discipline — to  train  or  educate  members 
of  a  military  community  to  the  practical  observance  of  mili- 
tary laws,  rules,  and  regulations.  r 

Rank. — A  line  of  men  placed  abreast. 

*^  Fierce,  fiery  warriors  fight  upon  the  clouds, 
In  ranks  and  squadrons,  and  right  form  of  war." 

"  I  have  seen  the  cannon 
When  it  has  blown  his  ranks  into  the  air/*  '    ' 

SHAKSPEARifi"' 

^^  But  with  a  pace  more  sober  and  more  slow, 
And  twenty,  rank  in  rank,  they  rode  a-row." 

Drydew. 

A.  row,  a  range  of  subordination;  class,  order;  degree  of 
dignity,  eminence,  or  excellence ;  dignity,  high  place  :  lie  is 
a  man  of  rank.  To  Rank. — To  place  abreast ;  to  range  in 
a  particular  class;  to  arrange  methodically;  to  be  ranged, 
to  be  placed ;  to  take  precedence  of  in  a  range  of  subardina- 
tion.  Qrade^  a  degree,  a  step ;  in  military  parlance,  those 
whose  commissions  are  of  the  same  tenor  constitute  a  grade, 
as  the  grade  of  captains,  the  grade  of  lieutenants,  the  grade 
of  surgeons,  the  grade  of  engineers,  &c.  The  word  rank  is 
frequently  used  synonymously  with  the  word  grade  ;  but  the 
propriety  of  the  practice  is  questionable. 

Some  few  line  officers  entertain  exaggerated,  indefinite  no« 


10 

tions  of  rank,  resembling  somewhat  the  ancient  Sandwich 
Island  conception  of  the  "  taboo,"  to  infringe  which  was  to 
peril  life  and  soul.  "  I  hold  my  rank  dearer  than  life  itself," 
said  a  respectable  lieutenant,  "  and  were  any  purser  in  the 
navy  to  offer  to  sign  an  official  report  above  me,  I  would 
cleave  him  to  the  chin  with  my  cutlass.  I  could  'never  suffer 
my  rank  to  be  outraged  in  that  way ;  I  would  rather  die." 

Those  who  view  rank  as  something  sacred,  as  a  little 
household  god,  whose  shrine  is  self,  may  be  admired  for  the 
poetic,  one  might  venture  to  say.  Quixotic,  devotion  they 
pay  it ;  but  in  this  view,  like  the  "  taboo"  of  the  savage,  it  is 
an  illusion  which  should  be  dispelled.  The  term  rank,  has 
a  definite  signification  in  military  language. 

Ranh  is  the  relative  position  of  the  members  of  a  military 
community  to  each  other ;  it  means  nothing  more  nor  less. 

It  should  be  carefully  borne  in  mind  that  rmik  and  com- 
mand, that  is,  authority  to  command  are  not  synonymous 
terms.  When  an  officer  is  placed  under  arrest  for  trial,  he 
is  deprived  of  his  authority  to  command,  but  his  rank,  that  is, 
his  relative  position,  is  not  affected. 

The  efficient  existence  of  the  army  or  navy,  is  derived  from 
two  distinct  sources.  Congress  creates  the  grades  of  officers 
and  privates,  but  the  authority  to  command  them  is  reserved, 
by  the  Constitution,  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
who  is  commander-in-chief  of  the  land  and  sea  forces.  An 
officer,  therefore,  depends  on  Congress  for  his  grade  and  rank  ; 
and  on  the  President  for  authority  to  command  or  obey ;  his 
rank  being  merely  the  measure  of  the  quantity  or  amount  of 
power  to  command  which  the  President  may  properly  give 
him.  An  officer,  while  on  furlough  or  leave  of  absence,  has 
no  authority  to  command;  the  force  of  his  commission  is  dor- 
mant until  brought  into  activity  by  command  or  order  of  the 
Executive :  but  his  i^ank  is  not  affected.  If  rank  and  grade 
iilone  conferred  a  right  to  command,  the  senior  captain  in 
the  navy  could  control  the  whole  service,  and  be  able  to  veto 
and  frustrate  the  commands  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

The  line  of  an  army  consists  of  a  body  of  men  whose  essen- 
tial duty  is  to  fight  the  enemy  on  land. 

The  line  of  a  navy  consists  of  a  body  of  men  whose  essen- 
tial duty  is  to  fight  the  enemy  on  the  sea. 

Linecd  rank  is  the  relative  position  of  the  members  of  the 
line  of  an  army,  or  navy. 

Full  lineal  rank, — Lineal  rank  may  be  restricted  to  one 


11 

branch  of  the  line,  to  the  cavalry,  to  the  artillery,  or  to  the 
infantry,  but  when  it  determines  the  relative  position  of  an 
officer  equally  in  all  branches  of  the  line,  it  is  termed /t/7Z 
lineal  rank. 

Staff  is  literally  a  stick,  or  support.  The  term  is  used 
to  designate  any  body  of  officers  permanently  charged  with 
specific  and  peculiar  duties  which  bear  upon  the  condition,  or 
rather  upon  the  successful  operation  of  the  army  in  general. 
The  Etat-Majm-  of  the  French,  or  Staff  of  the  English,  is  a 
modern  invention,  and  had  its  origin  in  the  necessity,  which 
experience  taught,  of  bestowing  a  minute  and  undivided  at- 
tention upon  certain  objects  which  are  intimately  connected 
with  military  success.*  The  importance  of  military  recon- 
naissances,  and  of  the  selection  of  sites  for  encampments,  &c., 
gave  birth  to  the  corps  of  military  surveyors,  entitled  the 
corps  of  topographical  engineers;  from  the  great  impor- 
tance of  properly  constructed  forts,  redoubts,  bridges,  &c., 
sprang  the  corps  of  military  architects,  named  the  corps  of 
engineers,  including  companies  of  engineer-soldiers  or  sap- 
pers, miners,  and  pontonniers,  who  are,  in  fact,  lahouring 
military  mechanics  of  the  engineer  corps.  In  a  word,  the 
invention  of  determinate  staff  corps  was  merely  extending 
into  military  operations,  the  system  of  division  of  vocations 
and  employments,  which  has  happily  and  beneficially  influ- 
enced the  various  arts  and,  consequently,  the  condition  of 
society  under  the  control  of  civil  law.  Why  this  system, 
which  is  successful  in  civil  life,  and  in  the  army,  should  not 
be  extended  by  law  into  the  navy,  is  a  question  not  easy 
to  answer. 

Staff  Duties. — The  physical  wants  of  the  line  of  an  army 
are  to  be  provided  for;  its  members  must  be  fed,  clothed,  paid, 
and  when  sick  or  wounded,  taken  care  of;  they  must  have 
barracks,  tents,  teams,  and  means  of  transportation ;  arms  and 
ammunition;  fortifications  are  to  be  built  and  surveys  to  be 
made,  &c.  The  persons  who  discharge  the  duties  connected 
with  these  various  matters  must  be  subject  to  military  laws 
and  regulations.  They  are  arranged  into  corps,  and  are 
termed  staff  corps,  because  they  are  essential  to  the  existence 
of  the  line,  and  their  duties  are  named  staff  duties,  none  of 
which  belong  strictly  to  line  command. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  names  of  the  several  staff 

*  Dumas.     Precis  des  Ev^nemens  Militaires.     Tome  II.,  p.  430.     Paris,  1817. 


12 

corps  of  the  army  of  the  United  States,  and  the  number  of 
commissioned  officers  in  each,  November  28,  1849. 

STAFF  OF  THE  ARMY, 

Commissioned  oflficers. 

Adjutant-General's  Department,         -  14 

Inspector-General's  Department,         -  2 

Judge- Advocate  of  the  Army,    -         -  1 

General  Staff.     <(  Quartermaster-General's  Department,  43 

Commissary-General's  Department,    -  8 

Medical  Department,         -         -         -  95 

Pay  Department,      -         -         -         -  28 

Corps  of  Engineers,     -        - 43 

Corps  of  Topographical  Engineers,        -        -        -        -  36 

Ordnance  Department, 37 


Military  Store-keepers, 


LINE  oi^jTp  AMX,n 
2  Regiments  of  Dragoons,  r^-  •*H?i-  /'nnj-t 
1  "  Mounted  Riflemen, 

4       *      "  Artillery,     «;  .)  j^;  -mh 

8  "  Infantry,     »  "^o  l*>'ft/!o«* 


307 

- 

-    17 

324 

i:\ji)  M> 

!'Kj[f>   .HM^ 

-    70 

\m}iiVH-^ 

-    35 

\Hm>. 

-  208 

fit-.       - 

-  272 

■-v. '585 

The  officiality  of  the  army,  after  deducting  25  i^fiB  liold 
commissions  both  in  the  staff  and  in  the  line,  and  also  the 
17  military  store-keepers,  consists  of  870  officers,  of  whom 
very  nearly  one-third  belong  exclusively  to  the  staffi  This 
fact  shows  the  importance  of  the  staff  to  the  army ;  without 
it,  the  line  would  be  worthless. 

The  Adjutant- General s  Department  embraces  the  detail  of 
officers,  roster  of  service,  records  of  enlistments  and  dis- 
charges of  men,  of  the  distribution  of  the  army,  &c.  This 
staff  corps  consists  of  1  Adjutant-General,  1  Assistant  Adju- 
tant^General  (Lieut.  Colonel),  4  Assistant  Adjutants-General 
(Majors  by  brevet),  8  Assistant  Adjutants-General  (Captains 
by  brevet) . 

The  duties  of  the  Inspector-GeneraVs  Department  are  con- 


13 

fined  to  the  examination  and  inspection  of  the  official  conduct 
of  the  army. 

The  Judge-Advocate  is  the  military  law  officer  of  the  army. 

The  QuarterTnasier-GenerdUs  Dejpartment  has  in  charge  all 
that  relates  to  clothing,  equipment,  quarters,  transportation, 
&c.,  of  troops  in  garrison  or- in  the  field.  This  staff  corps 
consists  of  1  Quartermaster-General,  2  Assistant  Quarter- 
masters-General, 2  Deputy  Quartermasters-General,  7  Quar- 
termasters, and  31  Assistant  Quartermasters. 

The  Commissary- GeneraCs  Department  is  charged  with  all 
that  relates  to  supplying  subsistence  to  the  army.  The  corps 
consists  of  1  Commissary-General,  1  Assistant  Commissary- 
General,  2  Commissaries  (Majors),  4  Commissaries  (Captains). 

The  Medical  Department  is  charged  with  all  that  relates  to 
medicine  and  surgery  in  the  army.  This  staff  corps  con- 
sists of  1  Surgeon-General,  22  Surgeons  (Majors),  and  72 
Assistant  Surgeons  (Captains  and  First  Lieutenants). 

The  Pay  Department  is  charged  with  paying  the  troops. 
This  staff  corps  consists  of  1  Paymaster-General,  2  Deputy 
Paymasters-General,  25  Paymasters  (Majors). 

The  Corps  of  Engineers  is  charged  with  the  construction 
of  forts,  barracks,  &c.  They  are,  in  fact,  military  architects. 
This  staff  corps  consists  of  1  Colonel,  2  Lieutenant-Colonels, 
4  Majors,  12  Captains,  12  First  and  12  Second  Lieutenants. 

The  Corps  of  Topographical  Engineers  has  charge  of  all 
surveys.  Its  members  are  land  and  harhcnir  surveyors,  fen- 
military  pmposes.  This  corps  consists  of  1  Colonel,  1  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, 4  Majors,  10  Captains,  10  First  and  10  Second 
Lieutenants. 

The  Ordnance  Department  has  charge  of  all  that  relates 
to  the  supply  and  preservation  of  arms  and  ammunition, 
arsenals,  magazines,  &c.  This  corps  consists  of  1  Colonel,  1 
Lieutenant-Colonel,  4  Majors,  13  Captains,  12  First,  and  6 
Second  Lieutenants. 

As  there  are  several  grades  in  each  of  these  staff-corps, 
and  a  range  of  subordination  in  each,  the  relative  position  of 
their  members  respectively  is  designated  by  rank,  as  in  the 
line. 

Staff-ranh  is  the  relative  position  of  members  of  a  staff-corps 
to  each  other ;  but  staff-rank  in  one  corps  does  not  necessarily 
designate  the  relative  position  of  the  officer  to  members  of 
other  staff-corps,  or  to  officers  of  the  line. 


14 

Assimilated  rank  is  the  relative  position  of  members  of 
staff  corps  to  officers  of  the  line,  and  to  officers  of  different 
staff-corps. 

As  authority  to  command  is  not  inherent  to  rank  of  any 
description,  but  originates  exclusively  from  the  instructions 
or  orders  of  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  that  is, 
the  President,  assimilated  rank  cannot  confer  a  right  to 
command  in  the  line.  A  colonel  of  engineers  cannot  com- 
mand a  major  in  the  line,  nor  a  medical  officer,  who  may  be 
a  major  or  captain  in  assimilated  rank. 

Consuls  enjoy  assimilated  rank  as  captains  in  the  navy ;  ^ 
but  the  possession  of  this  kind  of  rank  does  not  confer  upon 
them  any  right  to  command  junior  captains,  commanders  or 
lieutenants ;  nor  have  those  officers  in  the  navy  any  right 
to  command  a  consul.  But  it  serves  to  regulate  points  of 
etiquette,  precedence,  &c.,  on  occasions  of  ceremony  between 
consuls  and  officers  of  the  navy  on  foreign  stations. 

The  effect  of  assimilated  rank  may  require  further  illus- 
tration. A  captain  in  the  line  commands  a  company,  every 
member  of  which  is  bound  to  obey  his  orders :  without  such 
obedience,  the  functions  of  the  office  of  captain  in  the  line 
could  not  be  performed.  An  assistant-surgeon,  who  has 
assimilated  rank  as  a  captain,  has  no  authority  in  virtue  of 
his  assimilated  rank  to  command  in  the  line :  he  cannot  act 
as  captain  and  direct  the  duties  of  the  company  under  any 
circumstances  whatever ;  not  being  of  the  military  profession, 
technically  speaking,  not  in  the  line  of  succession  in  the 
grade  of  captains  by  the  rule  of  seniority,  or  any  other  rule, 
he  can  never  occupy  a  position  to  discharge  the  official  duties 
of  a  captain.  The  right  of  the  medical  officer  to  command 
is  limited  to  the  immediate  control  and  dirt^ction  of  those  of 
the  company  who  are  in  need  of  medical  attention,  and  such 
persons  are  bound  to  obey  him;  and  he  is  properly  responsible 
for  all  that  relates  to  the  care  and  management  of  the  sick 
and  wounded  of  the  company,  as  well  as  the  attendants 
upon  them.  From  the  nature  of  the  case,  he  must  have  this 
degree  of  authority  in  order  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
medical  officer,  and  tlierefore  his  official  commission  confers 
it  upon  him.  His  assimilated  rank  adds  nothing  to  the 
measure  of  his  authority,  which  he  derives  exclusively  from 
his  commission.  But  his  assimilated  rank,  as  a  captain, 
entitles  him,  in  his  official  and  social  relations  with  mem- 


15 

bers  of  the  military  community,  to  receive  the  same  signs 
of  respect,  which  are  conventional,  as  a  captain  in  the 
line ;  and  on  occasions  of  ceremony,  such  as  military  reviews, 
parades,  marches,  funerals,  &c.,  and  also,  when  serving  as  a 
member  of  a  military  council,  or  as  a  member  of  a  board  of 
survey,  or  a  military  court,  his  assimilated  rank  entitles  him 
to  take  a  place  among  those  of  the  grade  of  captains,  which 
is  determined  by  the  dates  of  their  several  commissions  as 
captains,  the  earliest  date  taking  precedence.  Assimilated 
rank,  no  matter  how  high  a  grade  it  may  attain,  does  not 
confer  authority  to  command  those  possessing  Ihwal  rank  in 
any  grade,  not  even  in  the  lowest ;  but  those  of  an  inferior 
lineal  rank  have  no  authority  to  command  those  possessed 
of  assimilated  rank  of  a  higher  grade ;  that  is,  cadets,  second 
lieutenants,  first  lieutenants  of  the  line  cannot  rightfully 
command  or  take  precedence  of  those  who  have  assimilated 
rank  as  captains.  Nor  can  those  who  have  liTieal  rank  as 
captains  take  precedence  and  command  of  those  whose 
assimilated  rank  as  captains  is  of  older  date,  especially  when 
in  the  presence  of  a  common  superior — a  major  of  the  line, 
for  example.  Hence  it  is  that  assimilated  rank  is  a  con- 
servative, or  protective  rank ;  without  it,  the  officers  of  the 
medical,  or  any  staff  department  of  an  army,  might  be  made 
subordinate  even  to  privates,  and  find  no  redress  in  law  for 
such  indignity. 

Relative  rank  is  the  relative  position  of  the  several  grades 
and  degrees  of  rank  of  the  army  and  navy  compared  with 
each  other :  and  also,  perhaps,  with  those  of  the  "  revenue 
marine."  It  is  generally  conceded,  for  example,  that  the 
grade  of  lieutenants  in  the  navy  is  on  a  level  with  the  grade 
of  captains  in  the  army ;  therefore,  the  relative  rank  of  cap- 
tains in  the  army  and  lieutenants  in  the  navy  is  the  same, 
the  oldest  commission  taking  precedence.  But  relative  rank 
implies  no  right  to  command,  either  in  the  army  or  in  the 
navy. 

Precedence  is  merely  priority  of  position  resulting  from 
rank. 

The  leading  principles  of  the  English  system  of  precedence 
are  based  upon  primogeniture  and  seniority.  Priority  of 
birth,  and  dates  of  patents  and  commissions,  determine  the 
precedence  which  individuals  of  the  same  rank  take  amongst 
each  other,  and  thus  the  station  and  degree  of  each  are 


16 

ascertained  by  means  whicli  rarely  admit  of  controversy  or 
doubt.  In  England,  we  find  that  in  the  church  and  in  the 
law,  in  the  civil  and  military  service  of  the  country,  rank 
and  precedence  generally,  but  not  always,  accompany  power. 

During  the  last  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  especially, 
the  aristrocratic  spirit  of  British  society  has  presented  a  well- 
defined  and  ascertained  character.     "  From  this  source  have 
sprung  a  variety  of  arrangements  connected  with  court  cere-  - 
monial,  as  well  as  with  the  intercourse  of  private  society^ 
which  are  mingled  with,  but  in  some  respects  quite  distvn&t' 
from  tJie  duties,  privileges,  and  powers  of  those  who  are  en-  ' 
gaged  in  the  public  service.    For  example,  though  each  rank 
in  the  peerage  commands,  according  to  a  certain  graduated 
scale,  the  respect  of  society,  while  it  gratifies  the  ambition  of 
its  possessor  and  his  family,  yet  no  one  member  of  the  House 
of  Lords  possessess,  in  his  political  or  judicial  capacity,  any  ' 
greater  amount  of  power  than  his  brethren;  the  vote  of  a' 
Duke  reckons  no  more  than  the  vote  of  a  Viscount  or  Baron."* 


Like  the  army,  the  navy  consists  ^  fi^i  though  vM^  ^i^.  ^ 
namje,  of  a  line,  and  staff : <^ > .  ^^>^1^  ^f  ^^  odioll     .olqitiirzj  'mX 

The  line  of  the  navy  consists  0^^'i>'f  ':)vrtofj.ioiq  -k*  h 

Captains,         .         .        ^y^y^vxv<\^'^^\'^rrvf\-  m 

Commanders,  .        97  >  492  Commissioned  Officers. 

Lieutenants,   .         .     327)  cVi'  ' 

Masters,         't  '^'^  mM)rH^l^!h?te  oift  pf  'J\MTy\ 
Passed  Midshipmen,     268  C  451  Warrant  Officers. 
Midshipmen,       ^^^  ,i^^(lQ2ty>}^ 

The  staff*  corps  of  the  navy  in  fact,  though  not  in  name, 
are — 

A  hydrogi-aphic  corps  (detailed  from  the  line). 

Captain,    JiiU.         .  1  ^ 

Lieutenants j  '         .  5  >  17 

Passed  Midshipmen,       11  ) 

An  ordnance  corps  (detailed  from  the  line) . 
Captain,  .      i{?»fhn    1 ) 

Commanders,  .  2^11         ,^^^ 

Lieutenants,   .         .  8)  r 'h>  *-->*"^ 


Dodd's  Manual  of  Dignities,  &c.     London,  15^4. 


17 

A  corps  of  Steam  Ungineers. 
Engineer-in-chief,    .  1 

Chief  Engineers,     .  8 

First  Assis't  Engineers,    8  )>  68 
Second     "  "  1 

Third      "  "         3 

A  Medical  corps. 

Surgeons,        .         .        68  ^ 
Passed  Assis't  Surgeons,  37  v  148 
Assistant  Surgeons,         43  ) 
A  corps  of  Parsers,      .         .       64 

The  duties  of  pursers  include  those  of  the  offices  of  quar- 
termaster, commissary,  and  paymaster,  in  the  army. 
A  corps  of  Chaplains,  .       24 

A  corps  of  Professors  of  Mathematics,  12,  of  which  number 
7  are  serving  in  the  hydrographic  corps. 

A  Marine  corps:  its  duties  are  military,  properly  speaking, 
and  it  has  a  line  and  staff  within  itself.  But  as  it  is  not  a 
constituent  of  the  line  of  the  navy,  it  is  cited  here  among 
the  staff  corps  of  the  naval  service. 


73 


The  aggregate  of  the  line  is  943,  of  which  number  at  least 
28  are  employed  on  staff  duty. 

Exclusive  of  the  marine  corps,  the  corps  of  naval  construc- 
tors, and  those  attached  to  the  bureaus  of  Construction,  and  of 
Yards  and  Docks ;  and  those  on  duty  in  connexion  with  the 
coast  survey,  the  Naval  Academy,  the  Mexican  boundary,  the 
inspection  of  provisions  and  clothing,  the  construction  of  mail 
steamers,  nautical  almanac,  &c.,  an  aggregate  of  about  50 ; — 
exclusive  of  all  these,  there  are  344  officers  belonging  to  the 
staff  corps,  or  employed  on  staff  duty,  a  number  equal  to 
mxyre  than  one-third  of  the  whjle  line. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  APPLICATION  FOR  ASSIMILATED  RANK. 

The  medical  officers  and  pursers  together  count  212  com- 

2 


Colonel,    . 

1 

(Staff  Majors), 
Lieutenant-Colonel, 

4 
1 

Majors,     . 

Captains, 

First  Lieutenants,     . 

4 

17 
23 

Second  Lieutenants, 

.     23 

18 

missions,  a  number  equal  to  nearly  one-half  of  the  whole  of 
the  line  commissions  in  the  navy ;  and  equal  to  on^fourtli  of 
the  whole  of  the  commission  and  warrant  line  officers.  The 
medical  officers  and  pursers  have  been  especially  prominent 
in  urging  the  establishment  of  an  assimilated  rank;  and  it 
is  believed,  the  members  of  other  staff  corps  also  desire  that 
they  should  be  included  in  it.  They  ask  to  be  placed  on  a 
footing  with  the  staff  corps  of  the  army. 

Very  soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  with  England, — ^when 
the  value  of  medical  services  was  strongly  impressed  upon 
the  mind  of  officers  of  the  navy  generally, — the  medical  offi- 
cers asked  to  be  assigned  a  definite  rank.  Their  petition 
was  sustained  by  the  opinion  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
(B.  W.  Crowninshield),  by  the  Board  of  Navy  Commis- 
sioners, in  official  communications,  dated  January,  1817,  and 
addressed  to  the  naval  committee  of  the  Senate.  In  May, 
1816,  nine  captains  signed  an  address  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  in  which  they  say,  "  We  consider  the  medical 
department  of  such  great  importance  to  the  navy  of  our 
country,  that  no  reasonable  measures  ought  to  be  omitted 
which  could  have  a  tendency  to  retain  in  the  service  the 
professional  ability  of  those  gentlemen  who,  by  their  experi- 
ence, knowledge,  zeal,  and  humanity,  have  procured  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  those  with  whom  they  have  been 
associated ;  and  we  also  beg  leave  to  express  our  belief  that 
no  reasonable  inducements  would  be  objected  to  by  Congress 
to  procure  for  those  who  are  engaged  in  a  perilous  service, 
and  who  are  constantly  exposed  to  the  diseases  of  all  cli- 
mates, the  best  medical  aid  which  the  country  affords.  To 
effect  this,  it  must  be  obvious  that  the  ranh  and  pecuniary 
emolument  ought  to  bear  some  proportion  to  what  gentlemen 
of  professional  eminence  would  be  entitled  in  private  life." 
In  December,  1816,  four  captains  addressed  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  on  the  same  subject.  They  say :  "  We  have  heard 
with  pleasure  that  it  is  the  intention  of  the  medical  officers  of 
the  navy  to  address  a  respectful  memorial  to  you,  requesting 
that  measures  might  be  taken  by  the  Department  to  procure 
for  them  a  definite  ranh  in  the  service,  an  increase  of  pay,  and 
the  establishment  by  law  of  the  rank  of  hospital  surgeon." 

When  these  memorials  were  presented,  there  were  but 
thirty  captains  in  the  navy ;  and  if,  to  the  thirteen  signers 
of  these  addresses,  the  three  navy  commissioners  who  ap- 


19 

proved  of  their  object  be  added,  it  is  fair  to  infer  that  they 
represented  the  general  opinion  of  the  navy  on  the  subject. 

A  code  of  regulations  prepared  by  the  Board  of  navy 
commissioners,  published  in  1818,  and  commonly  called  the 
"  Blue  Book,"  has^  a  chapter  on  "  Rank  and  Command  ;"  but 
it  applies  exclusively  to  the  line  of  the  navy. 

In  December,  1833,  the  Hon.  Levi  Woodbury  being  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  the  President  of  the  United  States  sub- 
mitted to  Congress,  for  its  action,  a  code  of  "  Regulations  for 
the  Navy  of  the  United  States,"  prepared  by  a  "  Board  of 
Revision,"  in  conformity  to  an  act  passed  May  19,  1832. 
The  fourth  article  of  that  code  provides  an  "assimilated 
rank"  for  surgeons,  pursers,  and  other  staff  officers.  This 
code  is  marked  by  confusion  and  incongruities,  and  did  not 
receive  the  sanction  of  Congress. 

In  1841,  another  code  was  prepared  and  printed,  but  was 
not  formally  promulgated,  not  having  the  sanction  of  Con- 
gress. The  fourth  article  of  this  code  provides  an  assimi- 
lated rank  for  officers  of  the  staff  with  the  line. 

In  1843,  still  another  code  was  prepared,  having  the  same 
feature,  but  was  never  sanctioned  by  Congress. 

Mr.  Upshur  was  sensible  of  the  great  importance  of  this 
subject.  In  his  report  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  of  Decem- 
ber, 1841,  he  said  :  "  The  evils  resulting  from  the  want  of  a 
proper  naval  code  are  of  the  most  serious  character,  and  will, 
if  not  remedied,  ultimately  ruin  the  naval  service  of  our 
country.  What  can  be  expected  of  a  community  of  men, 
living  together  under  circumstances  tending  to  a  constant 
excitement  and  collisions,  with  no  fixed  law  to  govern  them, 
and  where  even  rank  and  station  are  imperfectly  defined  ? 
The  necessary  consequence  of  such  a  state  of  things  must  be, 
disputes,  contests,  disorder,  and  confusion.  Sometimes  un- 
authorized power  will  be  assumed,  and  at  other  times  lawful 
authority  will  be  disobeyed.  It  is  impossible  that  a  whole- 
some discipline  can  prevail  in  this  uncertain  condition  of 
official  rank  and  authority." 

In  his  annual  report,  November,  1843,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  (the  Hon.  David  Henshaw)  said :  "  The  medical 
department  of  the  naval  service  requires  talent,  education, 
and  moral  worth,  properly  to  fill  it,  of  as  high  order  as  in 
other  branches  of  that  service ;  but  the  surgeons  and  assistant 
surgeons  have  no  military  rank.  A  modification  of  the  law, 
by  which  medical  officers  in  the  naval  service  shall  be  en- 


20 

titled  to  rank  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  prescribed  in  the 
army,  might  be  beneficially  made." 

The  Hon.  J.  Y.  Mason,  in  his  report  as  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  November,  1844,  says :  "  Great  anxiety  is  felt  by 
many  of  the  surgeons  and  assistant  surgeons,  and  of  the 
pursers  in  the  navy,  to  have  allowed  them  an  assimilated 
rank  5  the  corresponding  officers  in  the  army  enjoy  it.  Without 
^detriment  to  the  service.  I  respectfully  recommend  the 
subject  to  consideration." 

In  the  year  1844,  certain  officers  of  the  line — "commis- 
sioned officers  of  the  United  States  Navy" — addressed  a  me- 
morial to  the  naval  committees  of  Congress,  in  which  they 
assent  that  an  assimilated  rank  should  be  established  for 
medical  officers,  but  object  to  assimilated  rank  as  commander 
being  assigned  to  surgeons  until  after  their  commissions  shall 
have  attained  an  age  of  twenty  years.  Those  memorialists 
also  express  an  opinion,  that  the  claim  to  serve  as  members 
of  courts-martial,  convened  for  the  trial  of  medical  officers,  as 
proposed  by  the  medical  corps,  "  ought  to  be  granted." 

In  the  year  1846,  the  Honourable  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
issued  the  following : — 

"General  Order. 

"  Surgeons  of  the  fleet,  and  Surgeons  of  more  than  twelve  years,  will  rank 
with  Commanders; 

"  Surgeons  of  less  than  twelve  years  with  Lieutenants ; 

"  Passed-assistant  Surgeons,  next  after  Lieutenants ; 

"  Assistant  Surgeons,  not  passed,  next  after  Masters. 

"  Commanding  and  Executive  officers,  of  whatever  grade,  when  on  duty, 
will  take  precedence  over  all  medical  officers. 

"  This  order  confers  no  authority  to  exercise  military  command,  and  no 
additional  right  to  quarters. 

"GrEORGE   BANCROFT. 
♦'Navy  Department,  August  31,  1846." 

Subsequently  the  following  order  was  issued : — 

"General  Order. 

"  Pursers  of  more  than  twelve  years  will  rank  with  Commanders ; 

"  Pursers  of  less  than  twelve  years,  with  Lieutenants ; 

"  Pursers  will  rank  with  Surgeons  according  to  date  of  commission ; 

"  Commanding  and  Executive  officers,  of  whatever  grade,  when  on  duty, 
will  take  precedence  of  all  Pursers. 

"  This  order  confers  no  authority  to  exercise  military  command,  and  no 
additional  right  to  quarters. 

"J.  Y.  Mason. 
"Navy  Department,  May  27,  1847;" 


21 

In  January  1848,  about  sixty  or  seventy  officers  of  the 
line  assembled  in  the  city  of  Washington,  for  the  purpose 
of  procuring  the  revocation  of  those  orders,  on  the  alleged 
ground  of  illegality :  two  or  three  members  of  Congress  were 
present  at  their  meeting  by  special  invitation.  A  committee 
from  the  body  waited  upon  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  :  one  of 
the  consequences  of  the  interview  was  a  formal  protest  drawn 
up  by  a  member  of  the  bar,  and  presented  by  "  L.  M.  Golds- 
borough,  Commander  U.  S.  Navy,  in  helvalf  of  the  sea  officers 
concurring  in  the  sentiments  of  this  commuyiication,  inclicding 
himself 

This  paper  was  subsequently  printed,  and  circulated  among 
officers  of  the  line.  Its  positions  were  examined  and  proved 
to  be  untenable  by  Walter  Jones.* 

This  combined  effort  to  annul  these  general  orders  of  the 
Executive  failed. 

In  the  sequel  several  acts  in  violation  of  these  orders  will 
be  considered. 

OBJECTIONS  TO  ASSIMILATED  RANK  EXAMINED. 

The  author  of  the  pamphlet  marked  No.  1,  sets  out  with 
a  general  statement  of  the  duties  which  devolve  upon  the 
line  of  the  navy,  which  he  denominates  the  "military 
branch."  The  writer  has  italicised  some  words  in  the  fol- 
lowing quotations,  which  are  taken  in  regular  succession. 

"  To  build  and  equip  armed  cruisers,*  to  organize  and  discipline 
crews,  and  so  to  conduct  the  command  on  its  distant  mission,  as  to 
subserve  the  purposes  of  its  creation,  form  the  especial  duty  of  the 
military  branch.  The  entire  management  of  the  vessel,  her  internal 
police,  her  acts  of  aggression  or  forbearance,  her  safety  in  storms,  her 
manoeuvring  in  battle,  in  short,  all  that  concerns  the  honour  and 
reputation  of  the  country  that  is  represented  by  this  floating  frag- 
ment of  itself,  are  confided  within  certain  limits  to  this  class." 

Our  author  has  certainly  passed  over  the  existence  of  the 
corps  of  seven  "  naval  constructors,"  or  he  would  not  in- 
clude ship-building  and  naval  architecture  among  the  duties 
of  line  officers  in  the  navy.  He  is  perhaps  not  aware  that 
sixty-six  per  cent,  of  the  construction  and  equipment  of  a 

*  Observations  on  certain  objections  to  the  general  orders  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  conferring  assimilated  rank  on  the  Surgeons  and  Pursers  of  the 
Navy.     By  Walter  Jones;  8vo.  pp.  11;  Washington,  1848. 


22 

ship  of  war,  belong  to  the  province  of  the  naval  architect,  and 
consequently,  some  of  the  "  honour  and  reputation"  gained 
by  "  this  floating  fragment"  to  the  country  depends  upon  the 
professional  skill  of  the  naval  constructor  ;*  and  something 
is  also  due  to  the  manufacturer  of  ordnance,  and  ordnance 
stores. 

If  measured  by  the  expenditure  of  money  they  involve, 
the  duties  of  "  constructors"  is  of  the  first  importance  in  the 
naval  service  ;  and  we  all  know,  if  there  were  no  ships,  there 
would  be  neither  sailors,  nor  navy.  A  fortress,  when  com- 
pleted, endures  for  years  ;  but  our  floating  castles,  constructed 
at  an  expense,  often,  of  five  or  six  hundred  thousand  -dollars 
each,  are  totally  worn  out  in  twelve  or  fifteen  years,  unless 
kept  in  repair  at  an  expense  which  exceeds  their  original 
cost.  In  building  and  repairing  one  ship,  the  cost  of  mate- 
rial and  labour  expended  under  the  immediate  control  of  the 
naval  constructor,  who  is  necessarily  the  chief  mechanic  at 
a  building-yard,  is  equal  to  no  less  than  sixty-six  per  cent, 
of  the  cost  of  the  entire  vessel,  including  the  armament  and 
provisions. 

The  plans  of  our  ships  are  devised  by  naval  constructors ; 
and  their  efliciency  is  consequently  dependent  on  their  skill. 
Through  ignorance  of  construction,  our  most  gallant  officers 
and  men  might  be  sacrificed ;  for  they  could  not  correct  the 
evils  flowing  from  a  badly  planned  ship,  more  readily  than 
could  the  officers  of  a  garrison  remedy  those  arising  from  a 
badly  chosen  site  and  a  badly  built  fort,  which  they  were 
charged  to  defend. 

Naval  architecture  is  a  branch  of  mechanics  which  line 
officers  in  the  navy  cannot  reasonably  be  expected  to  under- 
stand, at  least  not  sufficiently  well  to  render  it  advantageous 
for  the  government  to  employ  them  in  planning  and  building 
ships;  should  they  be  thus  employed,  they  would  cease  to  be 
"  officers  proper"  of  the  navy,  and  it  is  believed  they  would  be- 

readinesa  for 


*  The  ratio  of  responsibility  for  putting  a  ship 

of  war  in 

active  service  is  as  follows  : — 

Construction,  .... 

66-3 

Equipment,      .... 

n-7 

Ordnance,         .        ". 

12-4 

Provisions  and  clothing,    . 

3-2 

Hydrography,  .... 

•4 

100- 


23 

come  at  best  very  indifferent  and  very  expensive  naval  con- 
structors. Men  who  devote  themselves  to  one  branch  of 
study  exclusively,  are  presumed  to  become  more  skilful  in  it, 
than  those  whose  pursuits  direct  their  attention  to  many 
subjects ;  yet  naval  constructors  are  not  in  fact  included,  in 
the  organization  of  the  navy,  and  are  not  held  responsible  by 
its  laws  or  tribunals.  They  have  neither  commission,  nor 
relative  position  in  the  service. 

Thirty  years  ago,  naval  architecture  had  declined  to  such 
an  extent  in  Great  Britain,  as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to 
the  reports  of  the  House  of  Commons,  that  a  school  of  naval 
architecture  was  established,  in  which  pupils  were  educated 
at  great  expense  to  the  government.  Though  long  kept 
back,  those  persons  now  hold  high  and  responsible  places. 
In  the  French  marine,  the  first  class  pupils  of  the  Polytech- 
nique  school  are  sent  to  the  dock-yards  to  become  engineers, 
where  they  have  a  suitable  rank,  but  no  military  control. 
In  the  Danish,  Swedish,  and  Russian  navies,  naval  con- 
structors have  a  similar  position. 

"Frequently  still  more  serious  cases  and  responsibilities,  inciden- 
tally  connected  with  the  profession,  devolve  on  the  naval  commander. 
He  may  negotiate  treaties,  decide  delicate  questions  of  international 
law,  involving  important  commercial  interests,  and  is  sometimes 
called  upon  to  assume  the  office  of  umpire  between  contending  States, 
or  contending  parties  in  the  same  state." — Pamphlet  No.  1. 

Had  our  author  cited  some  instances  to  support  these 
assertions,  it  might  be  admitted  that  no  li^ie  officer  should 
command  a  vessel  of  war  who  is  not  a  competent  naval 
architect,  diplomatist,  and  international  jurist.  Although 
he  may  never  be  called  upon  "  to  decide  delicate  questions," 
a  knowledge  of  international  law  may  be  important  to  pro- 
tect him  from  transgressing  it.  In  his  "  brief  and  compre- 
hensive view,"  our  author  has  omitted  the  somewhat,  though 
not  entirely  obsolete  duty  of  a  naval  officer,  which  imposed 
upon  him  the  superintendence  of  hospital  buildings,  hospital 
poHce,  grounds,  &c. 

"  Such  is  a  brief  and  comprehensive  view  of  the  arduous  and  com- 
plicated duties  of  a  naval  officer.  It  is  very  obvious  that  a  prompt  and 
energetic  performance  of  such  duties  demands  the  recognition  of  rank 
and  authority.     To  insure  obedience   and  subordination,  to  inspire 


24 

confidence  and  respect^  and  to  establish  that  species  of  unity  and 
concert  of  sentiment  and  action  that  is  needful  in  enterprises  of  great 
pith,  rank  and  authority  are  essential  principles.'' — Pamphlet  No,  1. 

From  these  data,  he  concludes,  ranh,  that  is,  relative  posi- 
tion in  authority,  should  enure  to  the  line  officers  of  the 
navy,  and  should  not  enure  to  staff  officers  in  tile  navy. 
Nothing  is  necessary  "to  inspire  confidence  and  respect," 
towards  them(?) :  his  words  are,  in  another  place,  "  there 
certainly  seems^  to  be  no  ground  of  absolute  necessity  why 
any  peculiar  share  of  rank  or  authority  should  be  bestowed 
upon"  them. 

"  Let  us  now  turn  to  the  civil  branch.  They  derive  their  designa- 
tion from  the  complexion  of  their  functions,  which  are  eminently  of 
the  civil  kind,  as  contradistinguished  from  the  military.  This  branch 
consists  of  surgeons  and  accounting  officers,  styled  pursers.  We 
will  begin  with  a  consideration  of  the  medical  corps." — Pamphlet 
No,  1. 

There  are  no  civil  duties  discharged  under  coercion  of  mili- 
tary law ;  civilians  cannot  form  part  of  a  military  community ; 
there  is  no  "  civil  hraiiclf  in  an  army  or  a  navy.  The  word 
is  falsely  applied;  consequently,  false  ideas  are  conveyed, 
and  false  opinions  are  begotten  and  preserved.  [This  view 
has  already  been  presented  under  the  heads  of  "Military 
Men"  and  Military  Command,"  page  8.] 

The  staff  of  the  navy,  as  already  indicated,  "  consists"  of 
more  than  two  corps ;  the  liiie  requires  more  help  than  is 
afforded  by  the  pay,  subsistence,  and  clothing  department, 
and  the  medical  department  [page  16].  The  functions  of 
physicians  and  of  accountants  in  a  navy  are  less  "  eminently 
of  the  civil  kind"  than  deciding  "  delicate  questions  of  inter- 
national law;"  or  "assuming"  the  office  of  umpire  between 
contending  States,"  or  negotiating  "treaties;"  or  (to  descend 
in  the  scale)  building  ships,  reefing  top-sails  in  storms,  "holy- 
stoning decks,"  "scouring  bright-work,"  or  supervising  the 
laundry  operations  of  a  ship's  crew ;  all  of  which  are  reckoned 
among  "the  arduous  and  complicated  duties  of  a  naval  officer," 
i.  e.,  o/  the  line,  who  should  possess,  if  our  author  is  correct 
in  his  "comprehensive  view,"  a  Caleb  Quotum-like  capability 
in  turning  his  hand  to  anything,  and  be  really  a  self-suffi- 


25 

cient,  buoyant  fao-iotmn  of  the  nation.     The  duties  of  line 
officers  of  the  army  in  comparison  sink  into  insignificance. 

"  It  is  evidently  a  high  moral  duty,  as  well  as  enlightened  policy, 
which  teaches  a  government  to  watch  tenderly  and  carefully  over  the 
physical  comfort  and  well-being  of  those  employed  in  military  service. 
The  crews  of  our  vessels,  using  the  term  in  the  enlarged  sense,  which 
includes  officers,  are  exposed  to  every  vicissitude  of  climate,  all  the 
casualties  of  sea-life,  and  all  the  hazards  of  war,  which  can  impair 
health  and  endanger  existence.  To  satisfy  undeniable  claims  on  its 
care,  and  preserve  unimpaired,  as  far  as  possible,  the  forces  that 
may  be  employed,  the  government  engages  the  services  of  medical 
men,  commanding  by  a  liberal  compensation  the  highest  degree  of 
talent  and  attainment. 

"It  is  in  this  wise  and  humane  policy  alone  that  this  particular 
institution  originates.  It  is  manifest  from  the  very  purposes  of  its 
creation,  and  the  functions  it  fulfils,  that  the  connexion  of  this  corps 
with  the  navy  is  incidental,  and  not  direct ;  that  it  is  an  adjunct  or 
auxiliary.^  It  holds  an  honourable  position  and  serves  a  valuable 
end.  But  these  facts  do  not  alter  its  essential  character ;  it  remains, 
notwithstanding,  what  we  have  termed  it,  an  adjunct  or  an  auxiliary, 
and,  in  a  military  point  of  view,  is  wholly  subordinate.  The  great 
objects  to  which  the  navy  is  directed  do  not  come  within  the  sphere  of 
its  action ;  it  takes  no  part  in  the  purposes  of  offence  or  defence  ;  it 
has  no  voice  in  the  councils  which  shape  and  control  the  public  duties 
of  the  vessel.  Its  dealings  are  with  the  sick,  ivho  are  generally  few 
in  number,  and,  for  the  time  being,  excused  from  duty,  and  not  with 
the  well,  who,  each  in  his  appropriate  place,  are  engaged  in  the  active 
concerns  of  the  ship." — Pamphlet  No,  1. 

Merely  a  benevolent  moral  sense  has  taught  the  govern- 
ment "  to  watch  tenderly"  over  the  comfort  of  the  line  officers 
and  crews  of  our  vessels ;  and  through  this  tenderness  of  the 
government  they  enjoy  the  luxury  of  competent  physicians, 
free  of  charge.  The  statesmen  who  have  legislated  for,  and 
controlled  the  navy  since  its  establishment,  were  moved  only 
in  a  feeling  of  pure,  humane,  and  generous  benevolence  to 
create  "this  particular  institution"  for  the  liiie,  being  fully 

*  Commander  Goldsborough  puts  forth  the  same  kind  of  argument  in  the 
paper  previously  alluded  to.  The  language  of  his  pamphlet  is — "  Its  [the 
navy]  great  aims  and  objects  are  military,  and  the  conduct,  control,  and 
management  of  it  was  designed  to  be,  and  must  of  necessity  be,  absolutely 
military.  As  a  mere  appendage  and  auxiliary  in  the  carrying  out  of  this 
scheme,  parties  engaged  in  the  pursuits  of  civil  life  are  resorted  to." 

This  pamphlet  seems  to  be  a  text-book,  from  which  many  crude  notions 
are  borrowed,  and  urged  rather  by  dint  of  repeated  assertion  than  argument. 


26 

aware  that  sound  health  and  physical  capability  constitute 
a  very  small  element  of  the  personal  strength  and  courage 
which,  with  proper  knowledge,  are  supposed  to  constitute 
military  efficiency  by  land  or  sea.  They  are,  no  doubt, 
fully  aware,  "  this  particular  institution"  of  humanity  is  not 
a  necessary  constituent  of  military  organization;  Ijecause  the 
sick  are  ^'generally  few  in  number,"  and  "excused  from 
duty,"  not  for  their  own  sake,  or  that  of  the  service,  but  in 
courtesy  to  the  members  of  "this  particular  institution." 

But  our  author,  nevertheless,  would  think  the  navy  de- 
ficient in  an  essential  particular,  were  the  medical  staff 
struck  out  of  its  organization ;  he  would  perceive  that  me- 
dical officers  take  an  active  and  essential  "part  in  the 
purposes  of  offence  or  defence,"  where  the  members  of  the 
line,  officers,  and  privates,  are  prostrate  in  considerable  pro- 
portion, from  disease  or  wounds  while  in  close  proximity  of 
an  enemy ;  and  then,  too,  he  would  imagine  that  "  this  par- 
ticular institution"  ought  to  have  an  important  "voice  in 
the  councils  which  shape  and  control  the  public  duties  of 
the  vessel,"  and,  in  a  "  military  23oint  of  view,"  it  should  not 
be  "  ivliolly  subordinate." 

Medical  officers  are  directly  and  not  incidentally  con- 
nected with  the  navy ;  they  are  not  merely  adjuncts  or 
auxiliaries,  but  as  essential  to  its  organization  as  any  grade 
in  it.  If  not  necessarj^,  why  incur  the  expense  of  a  medical 
staff?  if  necessary,  why  characterize  it  as  a  mere  incidental 
adjunct  or  auxiliary?  Medical  officers,  equally  with  all 
others  in  a"  cruiser,  "  are  exposed  to  every  vicissitude  of 
climate,  all  the  casualties  of  sea-life,  and  all  the  hazards  of 
war,  which  can  impair  health  and  endanger  existence." 
The  medical  officer  participates  in  the  chances  of  life  and 
death  which  fall  to  all  alike,  except  during  the  prevalence 
of  malignant,  contagious,  and  epidemic  diseases,  when  he 
and  the  attendants  upon  the  sick  incur  greater  hazards  of 
life  than  others.  During  the  excitement  of  battle,  the 
efficient  exercise  of  his  profession  requires  a  calm,  fearless, 
steadiness  of  purpose,  amidst  the  din  and  confusion  which  pre- 
vail ;  there  is  no  part  of  the  vessel,  or  of  the  field  of  action, 
however  exposed,  where  he  may  not  be  called  to  discharge 
the  functions  of  his  office.  It  is  common  to  assign  him  to  a 
place  of  as  little  exposure  as  possible,  not  through  motives 
of  care  for  him,  but  for  the  benefit,  comfort,  and  security 


27 

of  those  who  may  require  his  assistance.  As  well  might 
our  author  disparage  the  powder  magazine,  and  insist  that 
it  is  a  mere  "  adjunct  or  auxiliary/'  because  its  place  is  as 
Becure  from  fire  and  destruction  as  the  ingenuity  of  the  naval 
constructor  and  ordnance  officer  can  contrive  it. 

"  It  has  been  shown  that  rank  and  authority  are  conferred  on  the 
military  class,  because  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  the  case  ;  be- 
cause order  and  subordination  imperatively  demand  it ;  because  the 
great  purposes,  for  which  a  navy  is  built,  cannot  be  carried  into 
effect  without  their  aid.  But  it  cannot  be  urged  that  the  same 
reasons  apply  to  the  class  under  consideration.  Except  so  far  as  to 
regulate  the  mutual  relations  of  the  members  of  this  corps,  there  cer- 
tainly seems  to  be  no  ground  of  absolute  necessity,  why  any  peculiar 
share  of  rank  or  authority  should  be  bestowed  upon  it." — Pamphlet 

m.  1. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  objects  for  which  a  navy  is  cre- 
ated, cannot  be  attained  without  the  "aid"  of  officers  of 
the  line,  or  without  defining  "the  mutual  relations"  which 
should  subsist  among  them;  but  it  is  not  admitted  that 
officers  of  the  line  are  capable  of  obtaining  those  objects 
without  "the  aid"  of  the' stafi"  corps  in  the  navy,  and  there- 
fore it  is  "urged  that  the  same  reasons  apply"  to  every 
stafi"  corps,  for  conferring  rank  and  authority  on  them, 
and  for  defining  "the  mutual  relations  of  the  members" 
of  each  staff  corps,  not  only  to  each  other,  but  also  to 
those  of  the  line.  Both  staff  rank  and  assimilated  rank  are 
necessary :  staff  rank  to  define  clearly  the  mutual  relations 
in  command  and  in  obedience  of  the  members  of  each  staff 
corps ;  assimilated  rank,  to  define  the  relations  between  the 
members  of  one  staff  corps  and  the  members  of  other  staff 
corps,  and  between  members  of  the  staff  corps  and  members 
of  the  line. 

"  The  surgeon  stands  in  a  single  attitude  towards  the  service.  The 
sick  and  the  wounded  are  consigned  to  his  charge,  and  it  is  manifest 
that  there  is  no  military  position  he  could  hold,  and  no  authority  he 
could  tvield,  which  would  render  his  arm  more  expert  in  amputating  a 
limb,  or  his  brain  more  cunning  in  detecting  a  disease  and  applying  a 
remedy.  The  control  he  exercises  over  his  patients,  is  a  moral,  and 
not  a  military  control,  and  no  law  of  the  land  could  either  enhance 
or  lessen  it.  The  relation  is  one  of  kindness  and  skill  on  one  hand, 
and  confidence  and  gratitude  on  the  other." — Pamphlet  No.  1. 

Every  officer  stands  in  a  single  attitude  towards  the  ser- 


28 

vice,  which  attitude  Is  defined  by  the  limits  of  his  duty. 
The  sick  and  wounded  are  not  released  from  the  operation 
of  military  law  as  a  consequence  of  their  disabled  condition, 
though  excused  from  their  ordinary  duties  ;  their  obligations 
to  obey  are  simply  transferred  from  those  whom  they  usually 
obey,  to  the  surgeon  who  exercises  a  military  control  over 
them,  and  over  the  various  attendants  upon  them,  because 
his  commands  can  be  enforced,  when  necessary,  only  by  mili- 
tary law.  His  moral  influence  over  the  sick  and  wounded 
is  very  much  enhanced  by,  if  not  entirely  dependent  upon, 
the  military  position  he  occupies.  If  the  surgeon  were 
placed  on  a  level  with  boatswains'  mates,  it  is  not  probable 
he  would  possess  authority,  moral  or  military,  sufficient  to 
control  the  sick  or  the  attendants  upon  them.  His  skill  in 
amputating  a  limb,  and  his  brain-cunning  in  detecting  dis- 
ease, could  not  impart  to  him  the  moral  influence  derived 
from  his  commission  in  the  navy;  and  without  this  kind  of 
moral  influence,  it  is  believed,  no  surgeon  could  command  a 
large  military  or  naval  hospital.  "  To  insure  obedience  and 
subordination,  to  inspire  confidence  and  respect,"  military 
rank  is  as  necessary  for  surgeons  tod  other  staff  officers  as 
for  gentlemen  of  the  line. 

"  We  now  arrive  at  the  remaining  class  to  be  considered,  called 
pursers.  To  insure  convenience,  system,  and  accountability  in  the 
current  expenses  of  this  establishment,  this  corps  of  officers  was 
created.  They  formerly  acted  under  a  warrant  given  by  the  Presi- 
dent alone,  but  in  order  to  enable  the  government  to  make  careful 
selections,  and  to  exact  bonds  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  trust, 
the  law  of  1812  made  them  commissioned  officers.  Their  duties  are 
purely  mercantile;  they  lie  with  the  finances  of  the  vessel  and  the 
victualling  department.  They  negotiate  bills  of  exchange,  disburse 
public  moneys,  purchase  and  expend  provisions,  and,  at  stated  periods, 
render  exact  accounts  to  the  Treasury  Department.  Their  functions 
are  limited  to  these  acts,  and  they  have  no  other  connexion  with  the 
navy ;  their  trust  and  office  do  not  blend,  except  incidentally,  with  its 
leading  objects  and  purposes,  and  hence,  like  the  surgeons,  they  do 
not  rise  above  the  condition  of  valuable  auxiliaries.''' — Pamphlet  iVb.  1. 

"  The  duty  of  a  purser  during  battle,  is  to  supervise  the  passing  of 
powder  on  the  lower  deck,  while  the  surgeon  and  his  assistants  care 
for  the  wounded  in  the  cock-pit." — Pamplet  No.  2. 

The  pursers  are  not  merely  auxiliaries  in  the  navy ;  they 
constitute  an  essential  part  of  its  organization.  \Yithout 
pay  and   subsistence,  without  the  disbursement  of  public 


29 

moneys,  a  cruiser  could  not  be  at  sea.  The  functions  of 
pursers,  as  described  above,  are  of  great  importance  to  the 
navy,  both  in  their  "  mercantile"  aspect,  and  in  serving  the 
battery,  during  battle,  with  powder,  which  seems  rather  to 
be  the  function  of  a  military  than  a  "  civil"  officer.  But  the 
purely  military  duty  of  a  purser  is  not  always  restricted  to 
the  supervision  of  passing  powder;  in  some  instances,  at 
least,  he  commands  the  "  fourth  division,"  sometimes  called 
"the  berth-deck  division,"  as  entirely  as  line  lieutenants 
command  the  other  "  divisions"  of  the  crew,  governing  its 
supplies,  parading  and  mustering  it,  and  last,  not  least, 
leading  it  when  called  to  board  the  enemy. 

"  The  system  now  established  for  the  disbursements  of  money  and 
supplies  in  the  navy,  is  satisfactory  in  its  results.  The  purchases 
are  made  on  fair  competition,  and  the  duty  of  distributing  on  ship- 
board, and  of  accounting  to  the  department  by  the  pursers,  is  per- 
formed with  great  regularity  and  accuracy.  The  limited  number  of 
pursers  in  the  navy  has  made  it  indispensable  to  require  of  the  com- 
manding officers  of  the  smaller  vessels  the  performance  of  the  duty  of 
pursers ;  and  it  has  happened,  from  unavoidable  causes  sometimes,  in 
the  prosecution  of  active  operations  against  the  enemy,  that  the  com- 
mander was  separated  from  his  vessel  and  her  stores.  While  there 
has  not  been  a  case  in  which  any  suspicion  of  misapplication  of  public 
property  could  attach  to  an  officer  doing  duty  as  purser,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  officers  thus  situated  have  had  to  meet  losses  by  being 
held  to  account  for  all  the  stores  received,  to  the  delivery  of  which 
they  could  not  attend  without  neglect  of  the  paramount  duty  as  com- 
mander of  the  vessel.  I  am  entirely  satisfied  that  it  is  injurious  to 
the  service,  and  unjust  to  the  officers,  to  impose  on  them  the  duties 
of  purser.  The  appointment  of  twelve  assistant  pursers,  with  a  salary 
of  one  thousand  dollars,  which  is  now  allowed  by  law  to  a  commo- 
dore's secretary,  will  supersede  the  necessity  of  so  employing  the 
officers."* 

That  functions  of  purser  must  be  performed,  is  admitted ; 
and  that  they  cannot  be  efficiently  performed  by  line  officers, 
while  at  the  same  time  their  peculiar  duties  devolve  upon 
them,  is  also  admitted.  The  duties  of  purser  are  indispen- 
sable; therefore  they  are  not  merely  auxiliary,  and  not 
necessarily  of  an  inferior  character,  as  our  authors  assert. 
"  Then,"  in  the  language  of  Walter  Jones,  "  if  they  have 
succeeded  in  establishing  this  relation  of  superic/)^  and  inferior 

*  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  (J.  Y.  Mason),  December  6,  1847. 


8Q 

in  rank  between  the  two  classes  of  officers,  is  not  the  conse- 
quence inevitable  that  militai^y  rank,  howsoever  differing  in 
degree,  is  common  to  both  classes  ?  But  the  proof  of  this 
intrinsic  and  indelible  superiority  in  the  rank  of  the  one, 
and  inferiority  in  the  rank  of  the  other,  seems  to  be  quite 
fanciful ;  it  consists  of  an  argument  drawn  from  the  general 
policy  and  reasons  of  State,  which  induce  nations  to  build, 
man,  and  arm  a  navy.  The  one  set  of  officers  is  destined  to 
accomplish  '  the  great  aims  and  objects  of  a  navy,'  which 
are  said  to  be  purely  and  exclusively  military ;  whilst  the 
other  set  is  said  to  be  a  mere  appendage,  and  only  auxiliary 
to  those  '  great  aims  and  objects/  Neither  law  nor  depart- 
mental regulation  has  adopted  this  conclusion,  whatever 
force  it  may  claim  from  reasons  of  State.  The  whole*  navy 
itself,  with  all  its  constituents,  material  and  moral,  is  but  in 
the  nature  of  auxiliary  means  to  an  end ;  auxiliary  to  the 
very  motives  and  reasons  of  State  that  dictated  its  creation. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  nature  or  reason  of  things — nothing 
in  positive  law  or  arbitrary  regulation — that  enables  us  to 
lay  our  finger  on  any  one  of  the  constituents,  material  or 
moral,  of  a  navy,  and  to  say  this  is  a  principal  means,  that 
but  auxiliary.  Neither  the  mere  gradations  in  the  ranks  of 
officers,  nor  the  greater  or  less  importance  or  efficiency  of 
auxiliary  means,  are  sufficient  to  impress  on  any  one  set  of 
means,  the  character  of  principal,  and  on  another,  the  char 
racter  of  auxiliary T 

No  part  which  is  essential  to  the  efficient  action  of  a 
machine  is  auxiliary.  To  claim  that  the  hands  and  face  of 
a  clock  are  principal  parts,  or  parts  proper,  because  they  are 
most  conspicuous  and  prominent,  and  essential  in  indicating 
time  to  the  observer,  and  that  the  pendulum,  or  weight,  or 
wheels  are  merely  auxiliary  parts  of  the  instrument,  would 
not  be  more  absurdly  incorrect,  than  the  notion  that  the 
navy  consists  of  a  principal  and  auxiliary  parts.  Each  part 
is  essential  in  obtaining  an  end  which  is  a  result  of  the 
united  action  of  separate  parts.  It  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  hands  of  a  clock  depend  entirely  for  motion  upon 
the  weight,  pendulum,  and  wheels,  concealed  from  common 
observation ;  like  the  hands  of  a  clock  upon  its  wheels,  the 
line  of  a  military  establishment  is  dependent  on  the  staff  for 
its  efficient  movement,  which,  when  crowned  with  brilliant 
results,  exclusively  attracts  common  admiration :  the  names 


31 

of  the  hands  of  the  machine  are  generally  known,  but  com- 
paratively few  are  aware  that  the  wheels  have  distinctive 
appellations. 

"  The  general  conclusions  we  derive  from  a  candid  consideration  of 
these  facts  may  be  thus  stated :  that  rank  and  authority  are  given  by 
the  government  exclusively  to  carry  into  effect  its  own  purposes,  and 
that  they  are  not  given  as  marks  of  personal  distinction,  except  so 
far  as  they  are  needful  to  accomplish  the  objects  in  view.  They  are 
given  in  military  institutions,  to  the  military  class,  as  indispensable 
means  of  performing  its  duties,  and  on  the  other  hand  they  are  not 
given  to  the  civil  branch,  because  the  peculiar  functions  of  that 
branch  in  nowise  depend  on  them." — Pamphlet  JVo.  1. 

The  U7ie  has  rank  and  authority  as  the  necessary  means 
to  accompli-sh  the  purposes  of  the  government,  is  a  proposi- 
tion freely  admitted ;  but  that  the  staff  does  not  possess  rank 
or  authority,  and  that  neither  rank  nor  authority  is  a  neces- 
sary means  to  obtain  the  objects  of  its  creation,  constitute  a 
proposition  which  is  utterly  denied.  In  the  army,  all  the 
military  architects,  constituting  the  "  corps  of  engineers,"  all 
the  military  surveyors  of  land  and  harbours,  constituting  the 
"  corps  of  topographical  engineers,"  are  reckoned  in  the  staff: 
each  corps  is  composed  of  several  grades  [page  13]  subordi- 
nate to  each  other,  and  every  officer  in  those  grades  has  a 
rank,  and  the  degree  of  authority  commensurate  with  it. 
The  same  is  generally  true  of  those  divisions  of  the  staff 
which  constitute  the  "  Quartermaster  s  department,"  and  the 
"Commissary's  department,"  [page  13]  of  which  the  duties 
of  both  are  discharged  in  the  navy  by  pursers.  But  our 
author  denies  his  own  assertion  in  a  subsequent  paragraph. 

"  It  would  be  vain  to  attempt  to  trace  the  origin  of  rank  to  any 
well-defined  law.  Our  general  system  is  borrowed  from  British  rule, 
and  we  have  embodied  the  British  ideas  of  rank,  so  far  as  they  were 
applicable.  The  order  of  rank  existing  with  us  before  the  period  of 
executive  interruptions  [see  General  Orders,  page  20]  is  derived  from 
naval  custom  or  usage  from  time  immemorial;  it  enters  into  every 
rule  of  discipline,  and  is  acted  upon  in  the  daily  and  familiar  routine 
of  duty  in  every  ship  afloat.  It  is  anterior  to  any  laws  that  have 
been  passed  on  the  subject,  but  so  far  as  a  principle  so  manifest  and 
so  familiar  to  naval  life  could  be  strengthened,  it  is  confirmed  and 
fortified  by  a  variety  of  legal  enactments.  In  the  laws  distributing 
prize-money,  the  leading  idea  was  to  proportion  the  shares  to  the 


32 

grade^  and  accordingly,  that  to  the  surgeons  and  pursers  fall  a  smaller 
share  than  to  lieutenants^  and  that  in  the  order  of  enumeration,  they 
occupy  an  inferior  place." — Pamphlet  No.  1. 

"  A  law  of  Congress,  entitled  an  act  for  the  better  government  of 
the  navy,  approved  April  23,  1800,  provided  for  the  distribution  of 
prize-money  according  to  the  rank  of  officers  in  the  6avy  and  marine 
corps.  Article  1st,  provides  for  the  proportion  of  commanders  of  fleets 
and  squadrons,  and  commanders  of  single  ships.  Article  2d,  provides 
for  sea-lieutenants,  captains  of  marines,  and  sailing-masters. 

"  Article  3d,  provides  for  chaplains,  lieutenants  of  marines,  sur- 
geons, pursers,  boatswains,  gunners,  carpenters,  and  masters'  mates. 
In  each  of  these  cases,  the  order  in  which  the  different  grades  are 
enumerated,  and  the  amount  of  prize-money  conceded,  is  indicative  of 
the  rank  of  the  officer  specified.  Being  a  law  of  Congress  fully  ap- 
proved, it  is  as  much  a  supreme  law,  as  any  other  portion  of  the 
existing  naval  code,  of  which  it  forms  a  part ;  is  in  full  force,  and  can 
only  be  repealed  by  the  passage  and  approval  of  another  act." — Pam- 
phlet No,  2. 

The  object  of  these  arguments  is  to  show,  not  that  sur- 
geons and  pursers  have  neither  rank  nor  authority,  as  at  first 
asserted  by  the  author  of  Pamphlet  No.  1 ;  but  to  demon- 
strate that  the  rank  and  authority  of  surgeons  and  pursers 
are  inferior  to  the  rank  of  officers  of  the  line  :  "  so  that/'  to 
use  the  language  of  Walter  Jones,  "  the  lowest  grade  of  the 
last  is  superior  to,  and  entitled  to  command,  the  highest  grade 
of  the  others.  Then,  if  they  have  succeeded  in  establishing 
this  relation  of  superior  and  inferior  in  rank  between  the 
two  classes  of  officers,  is  not  the  consequence  in,evitable  that 
military  ranh,  howsoever  differing  in  degree,  is  common  to 
both  classes  ?" 

Both  our  authors  are  inaccurate  in  their  reference  to  that 
part  of  the  law  relating  to  the  distribution  of  prize-money : 
it  is  in  the  following  words : — 

"  Section  6,  Art.  2.  To  sea-lieutenants,  captains  of  marines,  and 
sailing-masters,  ^z^o-twentieths ;  but  where  there  is  a  captain  of  ma- 
rines, without  a  lieutenant  of  marines,  these  officers  shall  be  entitled 
to  two-twentieths  and  one-third  of  a  twentieth,  which  third,  in  such 
case,  shall  be  deducted  from  the  share  of  the  officers  mentioned  in 
Article  No.  3,  of  this  section. 

"3.  To  chaplains,  lieutenants  of  marines,  surgeons,  pursers,  boat- 
swains, gunners,  carpenters,  and  masters'  mates,  ^wo-twentieths. 

"4.  To  midshipmen,  surgeons'  mates,  captains'  clerks,  school- 
masters, boatswains'  mates,  gunners'  mates,  carpenters'  mates,  ships' 


33 

stewards,    sail-makers,  masters-at-arms,    armorers,    cockswains,    and 
coopers,  three-twentieths  and  an  half." 

The  rank  and  degree  of  authority  of  the  officers  cannot 
be  deduced  from  the  order  in  which  the  several  grades  are 
named  in  this  act,  nor  from  the  fractional  share  of  the  ag- 
gregate of  prize-money  to  be  distributed  to  each  class  formed 
in  the  several  articles  of  the  law.  It  will  not  be  admitted 
that  sailing-masters,  who  are  warrant  officers,  are  of  a  supe- 
rior grade,  and  have  a  right  to  exercise  authority  over 
chaplains,  lieutenants  of  marines,  surgeons,  and  pursers, 
who  are  commissioned  officers,  because  sailing-masters  are 
named  in  the  second  article,  and  those  commissioned  officers 
are  named  in  the  third  article,  for  prize-money.  Nor  will 
it  be  admitted  that  boatswains,  who  are  warrant  officers,  are 
superior  in  rank  and  therefore  have  a  right  to  command 
surgeons'  mates,  [assistant  surgeons,]  who  are  commissioned, 
simply  because,  in  this  act,  the  former  are  classed  in  the 
third  article,  and  the  latter  in  the  fourth  article,  for  a  share 
of  prize-money.  No  pretensions  to  superiority  or  equality 
can  be  sustained  by  this  portion  of  law ;  their  absurdity  must 
be  apparent  to  every  officer  of  reflection  and  experience. 

The  following  report  by  Commodore  John  Kodgers,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Navy  Commissioners,  is  pertinent  to 
this  point,  and  to  the  whole  subject  under  consideration  : —  , 

"  Navy  Commissioners' Ofl&ce, 

Washington,  January  23,  1817. 

"  Sir: — In  conformity  with  a  request  made  in  your  letter  of  yester- 
day, the  Commissioners  of  the  Navy  present  to  your  consideration 
their  opinions  on  the  petition  of  the  Surgeons  of  the  Navy,  referred 
to  you  by  the  Naval  Committee. 

^^  It  seems  to  be  just  that,  inasmuch  as  the  duties  and  responsi- 
bility of  navy  surgeons  call  for  an  equal  degree  of  professional 
knowledge,  as  well  as  of  respectability  of  character,  with  those  of  the 
army,  they  should  be  put  on  the  same  footing,  with  respect  to  rank, 
pay,  and  emoluments. 

"  The  commissioners  are  further  of  opinion  that  the  navy  surgeons, 
as  regards  their  rank  in  relation  to  each  other,  as  well  as  with  the 
surgeons  of  the  army,  ought  to  take  rank  according  to  the  dates  of 
their  commissions. 

"  The  commissioners  cannot  perceive  the  justice  of  the  complaint 
of  the  petitioners,  '  that  in  consequence  of  their  being  classed,  in  the 
distribution  of  prize-money,  with  persons  with  whom  they  do  not 


M 

and  cannot  associate,  the  respect  to  which  the  profession  is  entitled 
has  been  considerably  diminished  in  our  public  service.'  This  classi- 
fication is  merely  to  specify  the  sum  to  which  surgeons  are  entitled 
in  the  distribution  of  prize-money,  and  neither  involves  any  general 
idea  of  equality,  nor  imposes  any  necessity  of  associating  with  in- 
feriors. 

"  With  great  respect, 

"  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"John  Rodgers.* 
"Hon.  B.  W.  Crowninshield,  Secretary  of  the  NavyJ' 

The  views  of  our  authors  are  not  sustained  by  the  opinion 
of  the  Navy  Commissioners  of  1817,  all  of  whom  were  pro- 
bably in  the  navy  when  the  law  in  question  was  enacted, 
and  were  likely  to  know,  therefore,  the  intentions  of  the  act. 
Had  it  been  designed  to  indicate  the  rank  of  officers,  it  is  not 
probable  they  would  have  recommended,  in  the  face  of  it,  the 
establishment  of  rank  for  surgeons. 

"  Again,  in  acts  passed  in  1794  and  1797,  providing  for  an  in- 
creased naval  armament,  in  the  pay  bill  of  1835,  and  in  the  Navy 
Register,  printed  annually  since  1815,  the  same  order  of  enumera- 
tion, so  far  as  it  respects  the  two  branches  of  the  service,  has  been 
always  scrupulously  observed." — Pamphlet  No.  1. 

In  the  law  of  1794,  surgeons  are  named  in  Section  2 ;  and 
in  Section  3,  the  midshipmen  are  named  after  the  sail-makers 
and  carpenters,  and  the  same  sequence  of  nomination  occurs 
in  the  act  of  1797.  In  the  act  of  1835,  assistant  surgeons 
are  named  hefore  surgeons,  professors  of  mathematics  before 
sailing-masters,  and  midshipmen  hefoi^e  clerks,  boatswains, 
&c.  The  order  in  which  the  grades  are  named  in  the  "  Navy- 
Register"  is  not  in  conformity  with  the  order  of  nomination, 
either  in  the  law  relating  to  prize-money,  or  any  other  of 
the  acts  cited;  the  arrangement  of  the  Navy  Register  is  dis- 
cretionary, and  not  prescribed  by  law,  and  has  no  authority. 
Therefore,  the  degree  of  rank  or  authority  of  officers,  whether 
of  the  line  or  of  the  staff,  cannot  be  inferred  from  either,  or 
all  conjointly. 

Commander  Goldsborough,  in  his  pamphlet,  labours  to 
infer  the  existence  of  rank  from  the  law  of  February  7, 1815, 
which  provides  for  the  creation  of  a  Board  of  Navy  Commis- 

*  American  State  Papers.     Vol.  Naval  Affairs,  p.  443. 


35 

sioners.  "  The  second  section  of  that  act,"  he  says,  "directs 
the  said  Board  of  Commissioners,  by  and  with  the  consent 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  to  prepare  rules  and  regu- 
lations. One  of  the  specific  purposes  of  these  rules  and 
regulations  was  to  '  secure  responsibility  in  the  subordinate 
officers  and  agents.'  "  Under  authority  of  this  act  the  code, 
known  as  the  "  Commissioners'  Rules  and  Regulations,"  was 
devised  and  promulgated.  "  In  the  same  code  will  be  found," 
says  Commander  Goldsborough,  "  a  distinct  chapter  under  the 
head  of  ^rank  and  command.'  The  commission  officers  are 
divided  into  ranks  and  denominations.  A  specific  provision 
fixes  the  order  in  which  officers  shall  take  precedence  and 
command.  The  regulations  in  regard  to  surgeons,  pursers, 
secretaries,  chaplains,  and  other  non-ccmhatants^  imply  inferi- 
ority of  rank  and  subordination  in  authority."  This  was 
written  January  27,  1848. 

The  Commissioners'  rules  on  this  point  are  of  no  weight  or 
authority  in  law. 

On  the  29th  December,  1819,  twenty  months  after  the 
Commissioners'  rules  were  laid  before  Congress,  the  Hon. 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Smith  Thompson,  informed  the  Pre- 
sident of  the  Senate  that  these  rules  "  are  at  variance  with 
existing  laws^^  and  stated  in  what  particulars.  In  the  same 
letter  he  says  : — "  So  far  as  the  rules  relate  to  the  subjects 
ujpon  loliicTi  they  were  to  he  prepared,  as  specified  in  the  Act 
aforesaid,  they  may  he  binding  and  operative,  without  any 
further  legislative  provision.  But  it  will  be  perceived,  from 
an  examination  of  the  rules  and  regulations  that  many  of 
them  relate  to  subjects  not  enumerated,  or  coming  within  the 
purview  of  the  act  under  which  they  were  prepared ;  in  which 
cases  they  have  not  the  force  and  effect  of  laws,  and  further 
legislative  provision  is  necessary  to  give  them  such  effect." 
It  appears  that  these  rules  were  revised  and  again  brought 
to  the  notice  of  the  Senate,  January  11th,  1821,  by  the  Hon. 
Smith  Thompson ;  he  refers  to  his  former  report  of  Dec.  29, 
1819,  and  says  of  these  revised  rules,  "although  7iot  [now?] 
directly  at  variance  with  existing  laws,  may  nevertheless  re- 
quire the  saiiction  of  a  law  in  order  to  justify  their  enforce- 
ment."* 

In  1841,  long  before  the  question  of  rank  was  so  zealously 

*  American  State  Papers,  Vol.  Naval  Affairs. 


m 

discussed,  Mr.  Upsliur  gave  his  opinion  that  the  Commis- 
sioners' code  was  not  sanctioned  by  law.  He  thus  expressed 
himself: — 

"By  the  act  of  Congress,  approved  23d  April,  1800,  certain 
general  rules  and  regulations  were  enacted,  embracing  the  most  pro- 
minent and  important  subjects  relating  to  the  service.  These  are 
still  in  force ;  but  although  they  are  of  a  character  to  apply  to  the 
navy,  in  whatever  condition  it  may  be  placed,  and  were  deemed  alto- 
gether sufficient  for  it  in  its  then  infant  state,  they  are  too  few  in 
number,  and  enter  too  little  into  details  to  answer  their  purpose  at 
the  present  day.  Acting  upon  this  idea,  the  Board  of  Navy  Com- 
missioners, soon  after  its  establishment  in  1815,  compiled  '  Rules, 
Regulations,  and  Instructions  for  the  Naval  Service  of  the  United 
States,'  with  the  consent  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  obedience 
to  an  act  of  Congress,  passed  Tth  February,  1815,  entitled  '  An  act  to 
alter  and  amend  the  several  acts  for  establishing  a  Navy  Department, 
by  adding  thereto  a  Board  of  Commissioners.'  This  compilation, 
commonly  called  the  Blue  Book,  is  still  practically/  in  force,  and, 
together  with  the  act  of  1800,  constitutes  the  only  system  of  rules 
and  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  navy. 

"By  the  act  establishing  the  Board  of  Navy  Commissioners,  it  is 
provided  *that  the  said  Board  of  Commissioners,  by  and  with  the 
consent  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  be  and  are  hereby  authorized 
to  prepare  such  rules  and  regulations  as  shall  be  necessary  for  se- 
curing an  uniformity  in  the  several  classes  of  vessels  and  their  equip- 
ments, and  for  repairing  and  refitting  them,  and  for  securing  respon- 
sibility in  the  subordinate  officers  and  agents ;  which  regulations,  when 
approved  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  respected 
and  obeyed,  until  altered  and  revoked  by  the  same  authority ;  and 
the  said  rules  and  regulations,  thus  prepared  and  approved,  shall  be 
laid  before  Congress  at  their  next  session.'  Whether  or  not  the  Blue 
Book  (which  derives  its  authority  from  this  law  alone),  was  ever  ap- 
proved by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  or  laid  before  Congress, 
I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining.*  The  probability  is  that  it  was  not 
approved,  as  the  book  itself  contains  no  evidence  upon  the  subject. 
But,  even  if  both  these  formalities  were  observed,  it  is  altogether 
clear,  to  my  mind,  that  the  commissioners  acted  without  authority  in 
prescribing  many  of  the  rules  and  regulations  contained  in  the  book. 

"  The  obvious  intention  of  the  act  of  Congress  is  to  make  the  Navy 
Commissioners  the  ministerial  agents  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
for  certain  purposes.  He  has  no  authority  to  employ  any  other  agents 
for  those  purposes.  Among  other  things,  it  is  their  duty,  under  the 
second  section  of  the  act,  ^  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Secretary 

*  These  rules  were  communicated  to  Congress  by  President  Monroe,  April 
20,  1818.     See  American  State  Papers.     Vol.  Naval  Affairs. 


37 

of  the  Navy,  to  prepare  such  rules  and  regulations  as  shall  be  neces- 
sary' in  the  execution  of  the  specific  duties  therein  assigned  to  them, 
and  for  '  securing  responsibility  in  the  subordinate  officers  and  agents' 
employed  in  those  duties.  There  is  nothing  in  the  terms  of  the  act,  and 
nothing  in  its  plain  purpose  and  intention,  to  authorize  the  commis- 
sioners to  prepare  a  general  code  of  rules  and  regulations  for  the 
government  of  the  navy.  They  were  strictly  confined  to  the  purposes 
mentioned  in  the  act ;  to  wit :  '  securing  an  uniformity  in  the  several 
classes  of  vessels  and  their  equipments,  and  repairing  and  refitting 
them.'  For  these  purposes,  and  no  other,  they  had  authority  to  pre- 
pare, by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  such 
rules  and  regulations  as  they  might  deem  proper ;  and,  as  a  necessary 
incident  to  this  authority,  to  prepare  additional  rules  for  securing 
responsibility  in  their  subordinate  agents. 

"  That  this  is  the  true  meaning  of  the  act  of  Congress  is  so  appa- 
rent, that  I  deem  it  wholly  unnecessary  to  enter  into  a  more  critical 
examination  in  order  to  prove  it. 

"  But  the  Blue  Book  is  not  confined  to  these  objects.  It  contains 
a  great  variety  of  rules  and  regulations,  applying  to  every  department 
of  naval  duty,  and  to  every  officer  and  man  connected  with  the  naval 
service.  It  is  designed  as  a  general  code  of  rules  and  regulations  for 
the  government  of  the  navy,  and,  as  such,  is  universally  received  and 
daily  acted  on. 

"  Under  this  code,  thus  questionable  in  its  authority,  and  altogether 
insufficient  in  itself,  the  navy  has  been  governed  for  twenty-three 
years !  There  is,  in  truth,  no  law  upon  the  subject ;  no  obligatory 
rule  whatever,  except  what  is  found  in  the  act  of  1800 ;  and  that  is 
altogether  imperfect  and  inadequate."* 

The  inference  is  inevitable,  that  by  legislative  enactment, 
direct  or  indirect,  medical  officers  and  pursers  have  no  mili- 
tary position  assigned  them  in  the  navy.  Their  position  is 
uncertain,  and  can  be  made  to  vary  in  diiFerent  vessels,  in 
accordance  with  the  various  opinions  entertained  by  com- 
manders on  the  subject.  In  other  words,  the  position  they 
occupy,  relatively  to  the  line,  is  dependent  on  the  courtesy 
of  those  with  whom  they  may  be  associated  on  duty.  The 
following  paragraph  is  in  corroboration  of  this  assertion : — 

"  We  will  now  state  in  precise  terms  what  we  conceive  to  be  the 
true  position  of  the  surgeons  and  pursers,  as  derived  directly  from 
naval  usage,  and  sanctioned  indirectly  by  legal  enactments.  On 
board  of  a  ship  of  war,  the  surgeon  and  purser,  in  respect  to  subor- 

*  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  (A.  P.  Upshur).  December 
4,  1841. 


88 

dinatioiij  are  inferior  to  the  commanding  and  executive  officers  ;  in 
respect  to  certain  matters  of  ceremonial  and  etiquette,  they  occupy 
intermediate  ground  between  lieutenants  and  midshipmen,  and  in 
respect  to  social  privileges,  are  on  a  level  with  all ;  but  they  exercise 
no  military  autJiority  exceipt  over  their  respective  assistants." — Pam- 
phlet, No.  1. 

If  surgeons  and  pursers  occupied  a  definite  position,  based 
even  upon  unquestioned  and  unquestionable  usage,  that  po- 
sition would  be  so  familiarly  known  to  our  author,  that  he 
could  not  have  avoided  stating  it  in  positive  terms;  his 
language  would  show  that  he  had  no  doubts  in  his  mind 
upon  the  subject.  But  his  words  imply  clearly  that  the 
"  position  of  the  surgeons  and  pursers"  is  a  matter  of  opinion, 
and  that  in  7iis  opinion,  or  in  other  words,  he  cc/nceives  '^  the 
true  position"  to  be,  &c.,  thus  intimating  he  has  a  vague 
notion  of  the  existence  of  positions  which  are  not  true. 

The  term  "executive  officer,"  is  of  recent  application  in 
the  navy,  to  the  senior  or  "  first  lieutenant"  of  a  ship ;  but  it 
has  no  legal  or  official  existence  :*  recurrence  to  this  point 
will  be  necessary  in  the  sequel. 

The  opinion  of  our  author  is,  that  the  surgeon  and  purser 
in  a  ship  are  officially  inferior  to  the  commander  and  first 
lieutenant  only ;  ceremonially,  they  are  inferior  to  all  others 
except  midshipmen ;  socially  equal  to  all,  and  that  they  do 
exercise  military  authority  over  their  respective  assistants, 
for,  to  use  the  words  of  our  author  on  another  page,  "  what 
other  than  military  authority  can  exist  in  military  institutions, 
we  are  totally  at  a  loss  to  conjectured 

"  The  absolute  necessity  of  their  subordination  to  the  commanding 
officer  is  too  apparent  to  waste  a  remark  upon,  but  some  have  enter- 
tained doubts  whether  their  subjection  to  the  executive  lieutenant  is 
equally  clear.  On  this  point  we  will  briefly  remark,  that  the  execu- 
tive lieutenant  stands  in  such  a  relation  to  the  ship,  that  the  purposes 
of  order  and  discipline  would  be  utterly  defeated  if  the  civil  corps 
were  allowed  to  impugn  his  authority." — Pamphlet,  No.  1. 

The  duties  of  "first  lieutenant"  of  a  ship  in  the  navy  of 
the  United  States  are  very  nearly  if  not  exactly  the  same 
as  in  the  British  navy,  in  which  he  is  sometimes  charac- 
terized as  the  Heutenant. 

*  See  Appendix.     Letter  of  Commodore . 


(SB 

But  the  office  of  first  lieutenant  or  executive  officer  is  not 
known  in  the  laws  or  regulations  of  either  the  navy  of 
England  or  of  the  United  States.  In  fact,  even  the  "  Blue 
Book,"  or  "  Commissioners'  Eegulations"  does  not  recognise 
any  difference  whatever  in  the  duties  of  lieutenants.  With 
our  author,  it  should  be  received  as  authority.  According 
to  the  "  Blue  Book,"  there  is  no  such  office  as  that  of  "  first 
lieutenant,"  as  described  by  our  author.  Under  the  head 
"  Of  the  lieutenant,"  is  the  following  article  (22),  from  which 
it  may  be  inferred  the  commissioners  did  not  contemplate 
that  any  lieutenant  was  to  be  charged  with  special  duties, 
and  be,  on  this  account,  excused  from  keeping  a  regular 
watch : — 

"  22.  In  the  absence  of  the  captain,  the  senior  lieutenant  on  board 
the  ship  is  to  be  responsible  for  everything  done  on  board.  He  is  to 
see  every  part  of  the  duty  as  punctually  performed  as  if  the  captain 
were  present.  He  may  put  under  arrest  any  officer,  whose  conduct 
he  shall  think  so  reprehensible  as  to  require  it,  and  he  may  confine 
such  men  as  he  may  think  deserving  of  punishment ;  but  neither  he, 
nor  any  other  lieutenant  who  may  become  commanding  officer,  is  to 
release  an  officer  from  his  arrest,  nor  to  release  or  punish  any  man 
who  has  been  confined — for  this  is  done  by  the  captain  only  ;  unless 
he  be  absent  from  the  ship  with  leave  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
or  from  his  commanding  officer,  in  which  case  it  is  to  be  done  only  by 
the  senior  lieutenant  commanding  the  ship  in  the  captain's  absence."* 

In  this  case  he  ceases  to  be  lieutenant,  and  becomes 
virtually  captain  for  the  time  being ;  for  the  time,  all  the 
functions  and  responsibilities  of  captain  devolve  upon  him. 

But  suppose  there  is  a  first  lieutenant  by  law : — Our  author 
says,  "  It  would  be  a  difficult  task  to  convey  to  one,  not  fami- 
liar with  naval  life,  an  adequate  idea  of  the  variety,  extent, 
and  responsibility,  of  the  duties  of  a  first  lieutenant."  "  The 
first  lieutenant  is  the  deputy  of  the  officer  in  command. 
Though  the  office  of  lieutenant  is  less  responsible,  yet  it  is 
far  more  laborious  than  that  of  the  captain.  He  practises  a 
general  supervision  of  the  whole  ship,  and  attends  particu- 

*  Rules,  Eegulations,  and  Instructions  for  the  Naval  Service  of  the  United 
States,  prepared  by  the  Board  of  Navy  Commissioners  of  the  United  States, 
with  the  consent  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  accordance  with  an  act  of 
Congress,  passed  Feb.  7,  1815,  entitled  '^An  act  to  alter  and  amend  the 
several  acts  for  establishing  a  Navy  Department,  by  adding  thereto  a  Board 
of  Commissioners."     Printed  by  E.  de  Krafft,  AVashington  City,  1818. 


40 

larly  to  proper  cleanliness  and  regularity  throughout  the 
vessel.  For  this  purpose,  he  inspects  every  part  of  her,  once 
a  day  at  least,  and  reports  her  condition  to  the  captain. 
Besides  this,  his  duties,  as  they  are  strictly  practical,  involve 
considerable  labour ;  as,  for  example,  in  stationing  the  men 
when  the  ship  is  commissioned ;  in  exercising  them  at  the 
guns ;  in  regulating  the  expenditures  of  certain  public  stores ; 
in  taking  the  immediate  command  when  coming  to  an  an- 
chor or  getting  under  weigh ;  in  granting  leaves  of  absence 
when  the  ship  is  in  port,"  &c.* 

"  Among  his  duties  are  the  maintenance  of  the  police  and  discipHne 
of  the  vessel,  the  preservation  of  cleanliness  and  decorum  in  every 
department^  the  enforcement  of  the  general  laws  of  the  service,  and 
of  the  internal  regulations,  which  are  peculiar  to  the  vessel ;  and  over 
all  his  acts  the  commander  exercises  a  supervisory  care.  Now,  it 
seems  to  be  a  very  preposterous  proposition,  which  would  announce 
that  the  civil  corps  were  above  his  control — that  if  he  orders  the  drum 
beat  to  quarters,  the  purser  and  surgeon  could  pause  to  ascertain 
whose  commands  were  thus  proclaimed,  before  the  one  repaired  to 
the  cockpit,  and  the  other  to  the  wardroom ;  that  if  summoned  to 
the  quarter-deck  to  attend  general  muster,  divine  service,  or  any 
more  special  duty,  the  authority  from  which  these  orders  emanated 
could  be  safely  repudiated  and  set  at  naught.  It  seems,  in  short, 
absurd  to  suppose  that  there  could  exist,  consistently  with  the  well- 
being  of  the  service,  such  an  anomaly,  as  a  class  of  officers  at  once 
amenable  to  the  laws  and  discipline  of  the  ship,  and  free  from  the 
authority  and  control  of  the  very  functionary  appointed  to  enforce 
law  and  discipline.  Examples  like  those  cited  above  might  be  multi- 
plied ad  infinitum  (?),  but  we  have  said  enough  to  show  that  no 
reasonable  doubts  can  be  entertained  on  this  head ;  if  there  are 
doubts,  they  are  of  recent  origin — they  are  the  offspring  of  modern 
pretension,  and  are  disavowed  by  the  uniform  practice  and  experience 
of  the  service." — Pamphlet,  No.  1. 

Under  the  head  of  "  Regulations  for  the  promotion  of  dis- 
cipline, cleanliness,  &c.,"  the  Blue  Book  provides  (Article  23) 
that  each  lieutenant  shall  be  responsible,  not  only  for  the 
necessary  supplies,  and  '' everything  relating  to  the  conduct  of 
the  men  who  constitute  the  division  under  his  command,"  in- 
cluding morality,  decorum,  professional  knowledge,  and  obe- 
dience, but  also  for  the  conduct,  &c.,  of  masters'  mates  and 

*  A  Manual  of  Dignities,  Privilege,  and  Precedence.  By  Charles  K. 
Dodd,  Esq.     London,  1844.  .aiacaiawua 


41 

midshipmen.  And  under  the  same  head  (Articles  18,  19), 
most  of  the  duties  claimed  above  for  the  first  lieutenant  are 
assigned  to  the  captain.  But  our  author  does  not  seem  to 
recognise  any  difference  in  authority  between  the  captain 
and  the  first  lieutenant :  he  seems  to  regard  them  as  coequal 
in  the  right  to  command.  He  will  find  it  difiicult  to  cite  a 
statute  which  clearly  shows  that  the  first,  or  senior  lieu- 
tenant, is  "  appointed  to  enforce  law  and  discipline."  It  is 
believed  a  great  deal  is  here  assumed  for  the  first  lieutenant 
which  captains,  generally,  will  not  be  disposed  to  allow. 

The  first  lieutenant  is  the  deputy  of  the  captain ;  but,  as 
such,  he  has  no  authority  to  originate  commands,  except  so 
far  as  may  relate  to  petty  details  involved  in  the  execution 
of  the  orders  of  his  superior ;  and  he  has  no  legal  right  to 
inflict  punishment,  in  conformity  to  his  own  judgment  or 
pleasure,  even  if  his  commands  be  disobeyed,  by  officer  or  pri- 
vate, while  executing  the  instructions  of  the  captain.  The 
origin  of  authority  or  command  in  a  ship  is  lodged  in  the 
captain  exclusively ;  and  he  alone  has  the  right  to  hold  any 
person  responsible  for  their  acts,  either  within  the  limits  of 
his  own  legal  power  in  cases  of  minor  faults  or  offences,  or 
through  the  agency  of  a  military  tribunal,  in  cases  of  grave 
import.  Whenever  the  deputy  inflicts  punishment  of  any 
kind,  without  the  special  command  of  the  captain,  he  is 
guilty  of  assumption  of  a  power  which  the  captain  himself 
cannot  legally  delegate  to  him.  This  is  the  theory,  and 
such  is  the  law ;  they  are  not  altered  by  the  fact  that,  for 
the  sake  of  his  own  convenience  and  comfort,  or  other  con- 
sideration, the  captain  does  occasionally  permit  the  first  lieu- 
tenant to  exercise  the  power  of  punishment,  which  is,  accord- 
ing to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  law,  restricted  to  himself 
alone.  The  practice  of  delegating  authority  to  the  first 
lieutenant  is  daily  becoming  less  frequent  than  it  was  some 
years  since ;  and,  in  conformity  to  law,  the  first  lieutenant, 
like  others,  submits  to  the  decision  of  the  captain  all  cases 
which,  in  his  opinion,  require  the  coercive  interference  of 
authority  or  law. 

If  the  first  lieutenant  has  an  independent  right  to  order 
the  ship's  company  "  to  quarters,"  by  beat  of  drum  or  other- 
wise, by  a  slightly  increased  assumption  of  power,  he  might 
also  engage  the  ship  in  battle.  If  he  has  legal  authority  to 
order  general  musters  of  the  crew,  and  divine  service )  to 


42 

place  the  ship  in  battle  array,  and  to  "  enforce  law  and  dis- 
cipline ;"  to  make  and  take  in  sail ;  to  come  to  anchor  or  to 
get  under  weigh ;  if  his  duty  is  to  do  any  one  or  all  of  these 
things,  independently,  it  may  be  respectfully  asked,  what 
power,  what  authority  are  left  to  the  captain  ?  and  what  are 
his  peculiar  duties  ?  Surely  not  merely  to  supervise  the 
acts  of  the  first  lieutenant.  When  the  drum  beats  to 
quarters,  the  command  thus  proclaimed,  is  presumed  to  be 
that  of  the  captain,  communicated  through  the  agency  of 
his  deputy,  the  first  lieutenant;  and  such,  also,  is  the  pre- 
sumption when  general  musters,  divine  service,  etc.,  are 
ordered.  But,  if  this  notion  be  incorrect,  and  the  captain 
remains  tranquilly  in  his  cabin  while  the  drum-beat  pro- 
claims the  first  lieutenanfs  commands  to  quarters,  by  what 
law  is  his  authority,  thus  impugned,  to  be  enforced? 

The  idea  seems  to  exist  in  the  mind  of  our  author,  that  a 
first  lieutenant  cannot  discharge  the  functions  of  his  office 
without  possessing  a  legal  right  of  unlimited  control  over 
every  person  and  everything  in  the  ship ;  yet  it  is  presumed, 
were  he  to  review  the  premises  laid  down  by  himself,  he 
would  modify  very  considerably  his  own  conclusions. 

The  purser  has  special  charge  of  a  large  amount  of  public 
property  of  various  kinds  in  the  ship,  to  be  expended  in  the 
public  service.  He  guaranties  the  proper  expenditure  of  this 
property  and  moneys  intrusted  to  his  keeping,  not  only  by 
considerations  for  his  character,  like  other  gentlemen,  but 
also  by  pecuniary  bonds.  He  is  really  responsible  for  public 
property  and  moneys  to  the  government  alone,  which  holds 
him  to  account  in  an  office  of  the  Treasury  Department. 
Besides  the  security  derived  from  bondsmen,  various  checks 
are  thrown  upon  his  expenditures.  He  is  required  to  submit 
proof  that  every  article  and  every  dollar  have  been  properly 
expended.  Under  the  head  of  pay,  the  proof  is  found  in  indi- 
vidual acknowledgments  of  the  amounts  paid;  and  under 
other  heads,  the  signature  of  the  captain  in  approval  is  suf- 
ficient to  vouch  for  the  propriety  of  an  expenditure.  But 
neither  the  first  nor  any  other  lieutenant  can  give  him  an 
available  voucher.  Even  the  "  requisitions"  for  clothing,  &c., 
furnished  to  the  men,  though  signed  by  the  lieutenants  for 
their  respective  divisions,  are  not  "vouchers"  without  the 
approving  signature  of  the  captain.  The  purser  cannot  law- 
fully expend  any  article  of  public  property  without  the  tes- 


43 

timony  of  the  captain;  but  the  necessity  of  the  captain's 
evidence  of  the  propriety  of  his  act,  does  not  imply  that  he 
is  responsible  to  the  captain;  and  he  certainly  cannot  be 
held  responsible  by  the  first  lieutenant,  who  is  not  even  com- 
petent to  give  him  a  voucher.  The  captain  has  a  right  to 
order  expenditures  by  the  purser,  but  always  according  to 
certain  forms,  even  in  cases  where  the  expenditure  is  directed 
in  opposition  to  the  rules  of  the  Navy  or  Treasury  Depart- 
ments ;  and  it  is  compliance  with  those  forms  by  the  cap- 
tain, who  thus  becomes  responsible  for  irregular  expendi- 
tures, that  the  responsibility  of  the  purser  to  the  government 
is  cancelled.  But  the  first  lieutenant  possesses  no  such  right. 
Having  no  power  to  direct  or  vouch  for  expenditures  by  the 
purser,  it  is  at  least  fanciful  to  suppose  he  should  have  con- 
trol over  public  property  in  the  purser's  trust,  or  over  the 
purser  himself  as  to  this  matter.  For  the  interests  of  the 
government  and  of  the  public  service,  it  seems  sufficient  that 
the  purser  is  subordinate  to  the  captain  exclusively.  What  is 
true  in  the  case  of  the  purser,  is  also  true  of  the  clerks  and 
subordinates  in  his  department,  who  should  be  bound  to 
obey  him  in  all  things  not  inconsistent  with  law. 

The  department  of  the  surgeon  does  not  require  the  inter- 
ference or  control  of  the  first  lieutenant  in  any  respect  what- 
ever. The  government  reposes  trust  and  confidence  in  the 
surgeon  to  perform  the  peculiar  functions  of  his  office,  and 
has  provided  a  mode  of  punishing  him  for  delinquency  in  his 
duties,  and  has  also  established  his.  responsibility  for  conduct 
and  expenditures  in  his  department,  not  to  the  first  lieu- 
tenant or  captain,  but  to  an  administrative  office  of  the 
government.  In  the  treatment  of  the  sick  or  wounded,  in 
regulating  the  police  measures  of  the  place  in  which  they 
repose,  or  in  directing  the  acts  of  subordinate  attendants 
upon  them,  he  requires  neither  instruction  nor  advice  from 
the  first  lieutenant,  or  any  other  officer  of  the  line.  He  is 
competent  to  command  all  in  his  own  department ;  no  con- 
trol of  the  first  lieutenant  over  his  acts  could  possibly  assist 
him,  or  benefit  the  service. 

The  right  to  exact  obedience  from  a  medical  officer  is  not 
essential  to  obtain  his  professional  services.  If  such  right 
were  essential,  it  would  be  absolutely  necessary  to  assign 
medical  officers  the  most  inferior  position  in  a  ship  or  camp ; 
even  below  a  side-boy  or  the  youngest  drummer-boy,  for  he, 


from  disease  or  wounds,  may  have  occasion  to  command  the 
professional  services  of  the  physician.  Military  law  has 
wisely  provided  a  manner  of  compelling  the  medical  officer 
to  serve  a  side-boy  or  drummer-boy,  as  well  as  the  commo- 
dore or  general ;  the  latter  can  secure  the  punishment  of  the 
recusant  medical  officer  under  a  charge  of  "  disobedience  of 
orders,"  but  the  former  can  attain  the  same  redress  under  a 
charge  of  "neglect  of  duty."  Therefore,  the  only  reason 
assigned  for  making  an  exception  to  the  precedence  of  assi- 
milated rank,  in  favour  of  first  lieutenants,  or  of  officers 
of  the  line  while  in  command,  or  "  commanding  officers," 
namely,  that  the  officer  temporarily  in  command,  without 
reference  to  grade  or  degree  of  lineal  rank,  should  have  pre- 
cedence, so  that  he  may  be  able  to  exact  the  services  of  the 
staff  officer,  through  a  charge  of  disobedience  before  a  court- 
martial,  is  inconclusive,  if  not  fallacious;  for  the  medical 
officer,  who  should  disregard  the  request  of  a  private,  or  of 
an  officer  junior  or  inferior  in  rank,  could  be  as  effectually 
punished  for  "neglect  of  duty,"  as  for  "disobedience  of 
orders." 

All  that  relates  to  the  preservation  of  health,  as  well  as 
all  that  relates  to  the  cure  of  disease,  should  be  under  the 
control  of  the  surgeon,  who  should  be  held  responsible  for 
his  acts  and  the  advice  he  may  give.  "  The  nature  of  the 
causes  which  act  on  health  are  not  correctly  understood  by 
the  generality  of  mankind ;  and  it  is  scarcely  to  be  expected 
that  those  who  comman.d  armies  (or  ships  of  war) — ^who 
dedicate  their  time  to  perfect  the  tactics  of  troops,  in  antici- 
pation of  the  effect  which  arises  from  tactic  in  the  conflict 
of  battle;  or,  that  those  who  administer  government,  and 
who,  to  manage  with  dexterity,  devote  their  time  and  study 
to  find  out  the  propensities  and  passions  of  those  who  hold 
the  strings  of  the  national  purse,  which  is  the  omnipotent  en- 
gine in  all  national  operations,  can  or  will  take  the  trouble 
to  penetrate  deeply  into  the  study  of  an  abstruse  science,  like 
that  of  health.  The  study  of  health  is  a  study  of  value ;  but 
it  is  not  accompanied  with  the  external  splendour  or  political 
distinction  which  men  covet.  It  requires  great  labour  and 
some  talent,  to  attain  even  the  first  principles  of  knowledge 
that  relate  to  it ;  and  as  correct  knowledge  is  attained  with 
difficulty,  those  who  possess  power,  not  submitting  to  be  in- 
structed by  those  who  have  no  power,  except  what  arises 


45 

from  force  of  reason,  follow  their  fancies,  consequently  err 
in  the  course  which  they  pursue."* 

The  application  of  Medical  Science  to  the  preservation  of 
health  has  already  lessened  the  hazard  of  life  of  those  who 
frequent  the  seas.  Of  this  there  is  abundant  proof  in  the 
decreasing  rate  of  mortality  in  the  British  Navy  of  late 
years.  In  1779,  the  deaths  were  1  in  8,  annually;  in  1811, 
1  in  32,  and  in  1836,  1  in  72.  In  the  first  years  of  the 
American  Eevolutionary  war  6064  men,  mostly  affected 
with  fever  and  scurvy,  were  sent  ashore  from  the  channel 
fleet  in  the  course  of  four  months ;  and  on  another  occasion, 
2500  were  brought  into  port,  after  a  ten  weeks'  cruise.  In 
the  present  day  scurvy  is  almost  unknown.  It  is  said  the 
gallant  Lord  Nelson,  by  precautionary  measures,  "  kept  the 
crew  of  the  vessel  he  commanded  in  such  perfect  health  as 
not  to  have  lost  a  man  by  death  in  three  years,  and  this  too 
on  the  West  India  Station !"  It  is  the  province  of  the  medi- 
cal officer  to  suggest  measures  for  preserving  the  health  of 
seamen ;  it  belongs  to  the  commanding  officer  to  give  them 
due  efiect.f 

The  following  brief  history  exhibits  not  an  uncommon 
instance  of  the  unfortunate  effects  of  the  exercise  of  power, 
and  of  influence  of  station  over  subjects  which  have  not 
engaged  careful  study.  Physicians  can  readily  understand 
the  bearing  of  the  instances  now  brought  forward  upon  the 
question  under  consideration ;  and  it  is  hoped  they  will  en- 
deavour, in  their  intercourse  with  legislators  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,  to  make  them  comprehend  the  value  of  medical 
science,  properly  applied  in  the  public  service. 

The  U.  S.  ship  Macedonian  was  fitted  out  at  Boston  in 
February  and  March,  and  sailed  April  2d,  1822.  She 
arrived  at  Havana  on  the  28  th  of  the  same  month,  and, 
in  consequence  of  the  crew  being  diminished  and  enfeebled 
by  deaths  and  disease,  returned  to  Norfolk  in  August  fol- 
lowing. 

A  court  of  inquiry  to  investigate  the  circumstances  which 
induced  the  captain  to  abandon  the  cruise,  assembled  at 
Charleston,  Massachusetts,  October  7th,  1822.     The  court 


*  Jackson's  Formation,  Discipline,  and  Economy  of  Armies.     London, 
1845. 

f  See,  Ballingairs  Military  Surgery.     London,  1844. 


consisted  of  Captains  John  Rodgers,  Isaac  Chauncey,  and 
Charles  Morris. 

The  following  summary  is  drawn  from  the  testimony  ad- 
duced before  this  court.* 

The  frigate  Macedonian  sailed  from  Boston,  April  2d5 
1822,  and  arrived  at  Havana  on  the  28th,  and  while  she 
remained  there  that  place  "  was  reported  to  be  remarkahly 
JieaWiyr  Prior  to  sailing,  the  hold  of  the  ship  had  been 
"  sufficiently  cleansed"  and  whitewashed ;  and  when  care- 
fully examined  at  Norfolk,  after  the  return  of  the  vessel, 
it  was  found  "  there  was  not  more  dirt  than  usual  in  the 
hold." 

On  the  voyage  out  many  of  the  men  suffered  from  "  ca- 
tarrhal attacks,"  consequent  upon  a  severe  storm.  "  In  the 
course  of  ten  days  after,  there  was  a  visible  improvement  in 
the  health  of  the  crew ;  they  continued  to  be  better,  their 
colds  passed  off,  and  when  the  ship  arrived  at  Havana,  there 
were  from  18  to  20  sick,"  and  none  of  them  "  were  confined 
to  their  hammocks,"  and  in  the  opinion  of  the  assistant  sur- 
geon, the  crew  were  healthy.  The  ration  of  water  was  not 
restricted ;  but  the  orders  of  the  captain  prevented  a  suffi- 
ciency of  clothing  for  the  purposes  of  cleanliness  from  being 
supplied  to  the  men;  and  from  the  oOth  of  April  until 
June  29  th,  a  period  of  two  months,  they  were  without 
both  tea  and  sugar,  and  .were  not  permitted  to  have  any, 
because  they  were  "  a  little  in  debt"  to  the  purser.  They 
were  allowed  to  sleep  in  the  open  air  on  deck  during  their 
watches  at  night.  x 

While  at  Havana,  the  temperature  of  the  air  on  the  gun* 
deck  was  from  82°  to  86°,  and  in  the  hold,  it  was  supposed 
by  one  witness  to  be  as  high  as  110°  :  the  assistant  surgeon 
testifies  that  it  was  so  hot  below,  that  he  could  not  sleep  in 
his  room  in  the  cockpit.  The  ship  "  did  not  get  much  air 
with  her  head  to  the  wind,"  and  was  not  hove  up  broadside 
to  it,  except  for  a  short  time,  or  a  few  days.  "  The  breeze 
commenced  generally  in  the  morning,  and  continued  till 
sunset,"  and  at  night  it  was  calm,  or  nearly  so. 

*  Minutes  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Court  of  Inquiry  ordered  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  on  the  application  of  Captain  James  Biddle,  begun  and  held 
at  the  Navy  Yard  in  Charlestown,  State  of  Massachusetts,  on  Monday,  the 
seventh  day  of  October,  1822.  Printed  by  order  of  the  Navy  Department, 
from  the  Official  Record.     Davies  &  Force,  Washington  City.    1822. 


47 

The  ship  was  kept  clean,  but  was  damp  between  decks. 

Between  the  28th  April  and  7th  May,  the  captain  ordered 
water  to  be  let  into  the  ship  and  pumped  out  daily;  but  being 
informed  by  some  English  officers  that  in  the  British  navy, 
there  was  a  standing  order  against  letting  water  into  their 
vessels  at  the  port  of  Havana,  he  discontinued  the  practice. 
The  water  here  "  was  very  filthy  and  offensive  to  the  smell ; 
there  was  a  gelatinous  substance  on  the  chain  cable  when 
hove  in,"  which  appeared  to  be  very  offensive,  and  therefore 
the  assistant  surgeon  advised  that  the  chain  should  be  washed 
before  being  stowed  below. 

While  in  port  the  men  were  exercised  at  the  great  guns 
every  afternoon  at  first,  but  subsequently,  "  immediately  after 
breakfast,"  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  A  boat-race  took 
place  in  the  harbour,  in  which  some  of  the  men  were  em- 
ployed: "the  man  who  was  first  attacked  and  died,"  says 
Dr.  Chase  in  his  testimony,  "  had  been  in  a  boal^race  in  the 
harbour  the  day  before." 

The  berth-deck  was  capable  of  accommodating  comfortably, 
probably  200  men  at  most.  By  order  of  the  captain,  not 
less  than  340  men  were  compelled  to  sleep  "  for  two  or  three 
nights"  on  this  berth-deck,  with  the  air-ports  closed,  in  order 
to  punish  some  person  or  persons  unhnown,  who  had  cut  a 
gun's  breaching ;  a  most  criminal  act  as  all  naval  men  know. 
This  pimisliment  (?)  occurred  before  the  appearance  of  the 
epidemic  fever  on  board. 

It  appears  that,  between  April  2d  and  September  5th,  a 
period  of  five  months,  of  the  376  souls  on  board,  101  died, 
including  4  commissioned  and  7  warrant  officers,  and  among 
them  was  Dr.  Cadle,  the  surgeon  of  the  ship.  During  the 
illness  of  Dr.  Chase,  the  assistant  surgeon,  when  the  sick 
were  without  medical  advice,  35  of  them  died. 

The  captain,  who  is  represented  to  have  been  always 
solicitous  for  the  health  of  the  ship's  company,  attributed 
this  sickness  (yellow  fever)  and  its  frightful  mortality,  to  a 
foul  condition  of  the  hold  of  the  ship,  and  not  to  any,  or  a 
combination,  of  all  the  circumstances  above  related.  At  a 
muster  of  the  crew  at  Havana  he  stated  this  opinion,  and 
charged  the  officers  of  the  navy  yard  at  Boston  with  being 
the  cause  of  the  evil,  through  neglect  to  cleanse  the  hold 
properly,  when  fitting  out  the  ship.  The  effect  of  the  pro- 
mulgation of  his  views  caused  great  despondency  among  the 


IS 

men,  who  reasonably  believed  that  an  unavoidable  source  of 
disease  and  death  was  in  the  ship. 

The  members  of  this  court  give  their  opinion  that  the 
cause  of  the  disease  was  sudden  transition  from  a  low  to  an 
elevated  temperature;  to  remaining  long  at  Havana,  and 
letting  water  into  the  hold  while  there ;  and  permitting  the 
men  to  sleep  about  the  decks.  "  The  want  of  additional 
clothing,  of  tea  and  sugar,  and  the  despondency  of  the  crew, 
which  have  been  enumerated  by  the  medical  officers,  in  the 
opinions  they  have  given,  would  not,  in  the  opinion  of  this 
court,  have  produced  in  themselves  any  considerable  injury 
to  the  health  of  the  crew." 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  captain  was  officially  censured. 
The  illegal  mode  of  punishment  resorted  to  by  him  is  not 
even  alluded  to  in  the  opinion  of  the  court. 

All  the  orders  of  the  captain  were  intended,  no  one 
who  knew  him  will  doubt,  for  the  benefit  of  the  ship's  com- 
pany, and  even  the  illegal  punishment  was  designed  for  the 
best.  But  the  propriety  of  orders  cannot  always  be  esta- 
blished, simply  on  the  ground  that  their  intention  was  good. 
Although  designing  to  do  the  best,  a  hundred  lives  were 
sacrificed,  through  a  want  of  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  life 
and  health  in  him  who  self-sufficiently  arrogated  it,  and 
exercised  unHmited  power.  Had  the  captain  been  required 
by  law  to  be  governed  by  the  opinion  of  the  surgeon  in  all 
things  relating  to  health,  he  would  not  have  perpetrated  so 
many  acts  directly  in  opposition  to  the  most  familiar  laws  of 
hygiene.  Had  a  competent  surgeon  been  associated  with 
him,  possessing  rank  enough  to  give  official  authority  to  his 
opinions,  it  may  be  safely  conjectured  there  would  have  been 
no  epidemic  fever  on  board  the  Macedonian  while  at  Havana, 
which  at  the  time  was  remarkably  healthy.  It  is  stated  that 
her  cleanliness  contrasted  favourably  with  the  condition  of 
English  and  French  ships  of  war  in  the  harbour,  on  board  of 
which,  it  is  presumed,  no  disease  prevailed,  because  it  is  not 
mentioned.  Further,  the  conclusions  of  the  court  would 
have  been  different,  had  it  included  surgeons  among  its 
members.  It  laboured  to  establish  a  foregone  opinion  of  the 
captain,  that  a  foul  condition  of  the  hold  of  the  ship  was 
sufficient  to  account  for  the  prevalence  of  malignant  fever  in 
the  vessel,  and,  consequently,  to  censure  those  who  supervised 
her  outfit  at  Boston.     The  whole  investigation  depended  for 


49 

its  successful  results  on  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  causes 
which  influence  health  and  life ;  yet  the  government  pre- 
sumed that  this  knowledge  was  possessed  in  a  sufiicient 
degree  by  captains,  and  thus  it  virtually  preferred  the  opi- 
nions of  men  on  an  intricate  professional  subject  who  had 
never  studied  it,  to  the  opinions  of  those  whose  vocation  re- 
quired them  to  be  acquainted  with  it.  The  policy  was  surely 
bad,  for  men  should  not  be  held  either  officially  or  morally 
responsible,  when  required  to  utter  opinions  on  matters  which 
their  profession  does  not  embrace.  Who  would  not  rather 
trust  a  vessel  to  the  guidance  of  even  an  imperfectly  educated 
seaman  on  the  ocean,  than  to  the  control  of  the  most  learned 
jurist  who  had  never  been  out  of  sight  of  land  ? 

The  history  of  the  blockading  squadron  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  during  the  summer  of  1846,  leads  to  a  suspicion  that 
the  prevalence  of  scurvy,  on  board  the  frigate  Earitan 
especially,  was  in  a  measure  due  to  contempt  of  medical 
opinion  at  Washington.  The  newspapers  of  the  time  cen- 
sured the  medical  officers  of  the  squadron.  The  New  York 
Morning  Express,  of  November  28,  contains  the  following 
article : — 

"  The  last  number  of  the  London  Medical  Times,  in  an  article  on 
the  reappearance  of  the  scurvy,  and  alluding  to  its  having  been  on 
board  the  Raritan,  Potomac,  and  Falmouth,  while  operating  in  the 
Gulf,  says,  '  the  American  nation  should  demand  the  dismissal  of  the 
medical  staff  connected  with'  our  naval  service." 

But  it  is  clearly  shown,  in  the  report  of  Dr.  Foltz  on  the 
subject,  published  in  "  The  American  Journal  of  the  Medi- 
cal Sciences,"  for  January,  1848,  that  the  censure  is  not 
merited.  Among  the  causes  of  disease  on  board  of  the  Raritan 
was  imperfect  ventilation,  attributable  entirely  to  the  archi- 
tectural plan  upon  which  the  vessel  was  built;  but  the  modi- 
fications of  certain  internal  arrangements,  recommended  by 
the  surgeon,  to  remedy  this  defect  in  part,  were  not  ap- 
proved. 

Though  not  printed,  other  instances  might  be  adduced  in 
corroboration  of  the  inferences  deducible  from  the  case  of 
the  Macedonian  above  related. 

The  writer  has  been  told  that  the  steam-engineers  in  the 
navy  are  often  embarrassed  through  interference  in  the 
engine-room  by  such  of  the  line  lieutenants  as  are  very  im- 

4 


50 

perfectly  acquainted  with  the  theory  and  working  of  steam- 
engines.  On  board  of  a  steamer,  no  other  than  an  engineer 
should  be  permitted  to  meddle  in  the  details  of  a  working 
engine ;  he  alone  should  be  held  responsible  for  the  condi- 
tion of  the  machine.  In  the  English  navy,  the  chief  engi- 
neer is  responsible  for  the  condition  of  the  engine  room,  and 
for  the  decorum  of  assistant  engineers  and  stokers,  all  of 
whom  are  under  his  immediate  control. 

"  We  mean  that  fundamental  law,  which  looks  exclusively  to  the 
most  efficient  means  of  accomplishing  the  purposes  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  which  accordingly  confers  rank  and  authority  not  relatively 
to  individual  ambition,  but  relatively  to  this  end.  It  does  not  pause  to 
question  the  personal  wishes  of  surgeons  and  pursers,  but  places  them 
in  subjection  to  the  executive  lieutenant,  because  the  purposes  of  the 
law  and  discipline  require  it — it  does  not  sink  them  below  this  level, 
and  place  them  under  the  orders  of  the  other  lieutenants,  because  the 
purposes  of  the  law  and  discipline  do  not  require  it." — Pamphlet  JVo.  1. 

It  has  been  shown,  the  law  does  not  discriminate  between 
lieutenants  in  a  ship  by  assigning  a  different  kind  of  duty 
and  a  wider  range  of  power  to  the  senior  or  first  lieutenant. 
The  act  of  1800,  the  only  law  of  unquestioned  authority  in 
the  navy,  is  silent  on  the  subject ;  the  section  which  distri- 
butes prize-money  does  not  assign  a  greater  share  to  the 
senior  lieutenant  than  to  others ;  and  if  the  mode  of  reasoning 
adopted  by  our  authors  be  admitted,  the  rank  and,  conse- 
quently, the  authority  and  duties  of  all  lieutenants  are  alike. 
Therefore,  to  attain  "the  purposes  of  the  government"  in 
establishing  a  navy,  surgeons  and  pursers  should  be  placed 
below  all  lieutenants,  although  "the  purposes  of  law  and 
discipline  do  not  require  it."  The  questioned  and  question- 
able code  of  commissioners'  regulations  sustains  this  view,  as 
already  shown.  The  only  printed  regulations  of  the  Navy 
Department  which  recognise  an  "  executive  officer"  or  "  first 
lieutenant,"  are  the  General  Orders  (page  20),  which  our 
author  terms  "executive  interruptions,"  and  more  than 
intimates  his  opinion  that  they  are  based  on  an  unconstitu- 
tional assumption  of  power. 

But  the  practice  now  is  to  call  the  senior  lieutenant  in  a 
ship,  "executive  officer,"  to  excuse  him  from  keeping  watch, 
and  require  of  him  laborious  duties,  which,  in  strict  accord- 
ance with  the  letter  of  the  law,  devolve  upon  the  captain ; 


51 

but  the  arrangement  which  gives  him  a  deputy,  relieves  him 
from  the  necessity  of  attending  to  details.  Whether  there  is 
an  absolute  necessity  in  the  navy  for  the  office  of  "  first  lieu- 
tenant," or  "  executive  officer,"  beyond  the  provision  (quoted 
above  from  the  "  Blue  Book")  which  makes  the  senior  lieu- 
tenant in  a  ship  "commanding  officer,"  during  any  brief  or 
temporary  absence  of  the  captain,  is  a  question  upon  which 
there  may  be  a  difference  of  opinion.  Though  the  ques- 
tion is  debatable,  it  is  not  the  writer's  design  to  discuss 
it ;  but,  if  absolutely  necessary,  or  even  simply  expedient, 
it  would  be  well  if  the  office  were  recognised  by  law,  because 
it  would  render  the  duties  of  "  executive  officer"  uniform  in 
all  ships,  which  is  not  now  the  case,  some  captains  delegating 
less  and  others  more  of  his  duty  to  the  senior  lieutenant. 

It  is  not  admitted,  nevertheless,  that  there  is  any  conclu- 
sive reason  for  placing  surgeons  and  pursers  in  subjection  to 
the  executive  lieutenant ;  the  assertion  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding that  "the  purposes  of  the  law  and  discipline 
require  it."  It  is  enough  to  "place  them  in  subjection"  to 
the  captain  for  all  purposes  of  naval  discipline  and  efficiency. 

"If  the  imperative  necessity  of  this  inferiority  of  station,  in  all 
that  relates  to  military  matters,  really  exists  on  what  pretext  are 
pursers  and  surgeons  banding  together  to  escape  from  it  and  rise 
above  it,  without  first  pointing  out  the  means  of  obviating  the  necessity 
itself  ?  Why  are  they  straining  every  nerve  and  using  every  influence 
in  their  inordinate  desire  for  power  and  place,  when  they  cannot  ac- 
complish their  end,  without  breaking  through  those  salutary  restraints 
which  the  experience  of  the  navies  throughout  the  world  have  imposed  ? 
It  is  surely  incumbent  upon  them  to  show  that  some  public  good  can 
be  achieved,  apart  from  individual  aggrandizement,  before  they  seek 
to  change  the  old  beacons  that  have  hitherto  successfully  guided  us : 
they  ought  to  make  it  manifest  beyond  all  doubt,  that  the  harmony 
and  efficiency  of  the  service  will  be  ultimately  improved,  or  that  some 
other  attainable  general  benefit  is  expected  to  follow,  before  they 
attempt  a  revolution  in  the  habits,  opinions,  usages,  and  rights,  that 
have  always  prevailed,  a  revolution  that  arrays  one  class  against  the 
other  in  angry  strife  and  discord,  and  opens  hourly  new  questions  of 
dispute  di}aoui  precedence  and  authority.'' — Pamphlet,  No.  1. 

No  "imperative  necessity"  "really  exists"  for  confining 
surgeons  and  pursers  to  the  "inferiority  of  station"  indi- 
cated by  our  author ;  it  would  be  absurd  to  attempt  to  obvi- 
ate that  which  has  no  palpable  existence.    "  The  experience 


52 

of  the  navies  throughout  the  world"  is  no  doubt  very  great, 
and  embraces  a  strong  body  of  evidence  of  one  kind  or 
another  on  many  points;  but  as  that  experience  has  been 
acquired  under  hereditary  governments,  autocratic  or  mo- 
narchial,  its  weight  of  authority  is  not  perfectly  applicable 
in  fashioning  the  institutions  of  a  republic,  even  if  that  evi- 
dence were  in  detail  before  us.  It  is  believed  the  national 
legislature  is  sufficiently  apt  in  comprehending  the  broad 
principles  of  republican  government ;  and  it  will  never  con- 
sent to  incorporate  any  other  than  their  spirit  in  republican 
institutions,  whether  civil  or  military.  While  conferring 
upon  its  various  functionaries  all  power  that  is  clearly  need- 
ful to  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  Congress  will  not  confide 
unlimited  power  to  any.  If  the  staff  corps  are  "banding 
together"  for  any  purpose,  it  is  not  to  escape  from  the  per- 
formance of  any  act  within  the  limits  of  duty,  but  to  over- 
come the  depressing  influence  of  those  whose-  acts  have  long 
exhibited,  what  seems  to  be  "  inordinate  desire  for  power  and 
place ;"  and  to  break  through  "  restraints"  which  are  neither 
useful  nor  salutary  to  the  public  service.  Although,  in  the 
opinion  of  our  author,  the  experience  of  the  navies  of  the 
world  may  have  sanctified  those  "  restraints,"  they  are  fast 
yielding,  in  those  very  navies,  to  the  increasing  intelligence 
of  the  people,  and  the  power  they  are  exercising  over  thrones, 
and  even  over  despotism.  But  even  the  example  of  those 
navies,  so  confidently  referred  to,  is  against  the  conclusion 
our  author  has  endeavoured  to  establish,  namely,  that  rank 
and  authority  "  are  not  given  to  the  civil  branch :"  for  in  the 
navy  of  Great  Britain  surgeons  and  pursers  have  a  defined 
rank  and  authority.  In  a  joint  letter  addressed  in  March 
last  to  the  Hon.  William  Ballard  Preston,  lately  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  more  than  140  gentlemen  of  the  line  invite 
attention  to  this  fact;  and  indicate  rather  than  express 
an  opinion,  that  the  General  Orders  assimilating  rank  should 
be  revoked,  although  they  say  "  we"  were  willing  "  to  extend 
every  mark  of  courtesy  to  a  most  deserving  body  of  our 
brother  officers."  The  communication  alluded  to  has  been 
placed  before  the  naval  committees  of  Congress. 

Our  author  thinks  no  "  public  good"  can  result  from  the 
establishment  of  assimilated  rank.  Whatever  tends  to  pre- 
serve peace  and  harmony  in  a  community,  or  to  protect  its 
members  in  their  property  and  character,  or  to  guard  them 


53 

against  the  exercise  of  illegal  force  or  power,  is  a  public  good ; 
and  in  this  sense  alone,  the  establishment  of  an  assimilated 
rank  by  law  would  be  a  public  good  in  the  navy,  because  it 
would  probably  set  at  rest,  in  practice  at  least,  all  differences 
of  opinion  on  precedence.  But  in  a  more  special  point  of 
view,  the  writer  believes  an  assimilated  rank  for  surgeons  in 
the  navy  would  be  beneficial  to  the  service.  The  language 
of  a  British  author  who  died  in  1827,  in  the  77th  year  of 
his  age,  expresses  clear  notions  on  the  subject.  "  The  rank 
accorded  to  the  medical  officer  does  not  injure  or  even  inter- 
fere with  the  military.  Rank  is  of  no  intrinsic  value  in 
itself  to  a  man  of  science ;  but  the  opinion  connected  with 
the  rank  makes  an  impression  on  the  soldier,  which  aids 
materially  in  giving  force  to  medical  authority,  and  conse- 
quently to  medical  utility.  The  soldier  is  accustomed  to 
view  things  superficially,  to  estimate  and  judge  by  the  exte- 
rior only ;  for,  as  he  is  not  permitted  to  reason  and  resolve 
to  principle,  the  science  of  the  medical  art  is  less  regarded 
by  him,  than  the  authority  of  the  rank  under  which  it  is 
applied  to  him.  For  this  reason  we  venture  to  assert,  that 
if  the  medical  officer  stand  in  what  may  be  called  a  degraded 
rank  in  military  estimation,  the  usefulness  of  the  medical 
art  will  lose  much  of  its  value  as  applied  to  a  military  sub- 
ject. The  matter  now  under  view  is  of  some  consequence  to 
the  interests  of  the  army;  and  it  is  not,  it  is  presumed, 
beneath  the  dignity  of  the  higher  powers  of  the  state  to 
consider  it,  if  it  be  held  to  be  a  national  concern  to  arrange 
the  various  departments  of  the  army  on  a  basis  of  justice 
and  truth.  Those  who  hold  high  official  stations,  and  parti- 
cularly those  who  wield  the  sword,  are  strongly  disposed  to 
depress  men  of  science;  and,  among  others,  the  medical 
department  (which  is  a  department  of  science),  has  been 
degraded  of  late  years,  at  least  debarred  from  rising  to  a 
rank  suitable  to  its  importance.  But,  be  this  as  it  may,  the 
history  of  our  most  brilliant  campaigns  will  not  permit  our 
most  celebrated  generals  to  say  that  nothing  is  due  to  the 
medical  staff,  where  that  staff  is  permitted  to  act  according  to 
its  judgment.  The  latter  periods  of  the  Peninsular  war  bear 
irrefragable  testimony  to  medical  value."* 

*  Jackson  on  the  Formation,  Discipline,  and  Economy  of  Armies.     Lon- 
don, 1845. 


54 

Even  in  civil  life,  a  certain  position  in  society,  or  the  in- 
signia of  it,  consisting  chiefly  of  dress  and  equipage,  seem  to 
be  necessary  to  give  authority  to  the  advice  of  the  physician. 
This  is  so  well  understood  that  even  pretenders,  it  is  believed, 
are  indebted  for  extensive  practice  in  large  cities,  to  visiting 
their  patients  in  a  showy  four-wheeled  vehicle,  drawn  by  a  pair 
of  horses,  driven  by  a  coachman  in  livery,  instead  of  going 
their  daily  rounds  in  an  unpretending  gig.  The  science  of 
medicine  is  rarely  pursued  successfully  as  a  business  with- 
out a  considerable  money-capital.  Physicians  have  seldom 
walked  into  a  lucrative  practice.  People  do  not  expect  to 
find  one  possessed  of  ihe  wisdom  and  skill  of  a  Sir  Astley 
Cooper,  or  a  Physick,  or  a  Dupuytren,  in  a  coat  out  at  the 
elbows,  trudging  by  the  wayside  in  hob-nailed  shoes ;  no 
stranger  would  confide  in  a  physician  who  should  present 
himself  at  the  bedside  unshaven,  in  soiled  linen,  coarsely  and 
shabbily  attired.  The  physician's  advice  is  often  valuable, 
and  followed  in  proportion  to  the  amount  invested  in  his 
clothing,  furniture,  and  "  turn  out,"  because  they  create  a 
sort  of  visible  authority  which  few  patients  fail  to  respect, 
and  which  still  fewer  are  capable  of  justly  appreciating.  If, 
then,  social  position  be  necessary  to  give  weight  to  the 
practitioner's  advice,  even  among  the  intelligent  and  affluent, 
it  may  be  conjectured,  for  analogous  reasons,  that  the  use- 
fulness of  a  surgeon  in  a  military  community  will  bear  some 
proportion  to  the  degree  of  his  rank,  which  is  to  him  there, 
what  social  style  and  equipage  are  in  private  life. 

Whatever  tends  to  assist  the  surgeon,  in  the  application  of 
medical  science  to  the  preservation  of  health,  and  the  cure  of 
disease  in  the  navy,  also  tends  to  increase  the  efficiency  of 
the  public  service.     This  in  itself  is  a  public  good. 

"  Let  us  now  consider  the  other  circumstances  of  inferiority,  those 
which  concern  ceremonial  and  etiquette.  As  everything  has  its  ap- 
propriate use,  the  formal  observances  of  ceremony  in  military  institu- 
tions are  not  without  their  value.  They  were  appointed,  not  to  gratify 
individual  pride,  though  such  may  be  an « incidental  consequence,  but 
in  part  to  serve  as  the  distinguishing  quality  or  badge  of  rank,  and  in 
part  to  invest  state  occasions  with  a  certain  degree  of  sober  dignity 
and  decorum.  They  constitute,  in  a  general  way,  the  '  pomp  and  cir- 
cumstance' which  forms  the  prestige  of  the  service,  and  thus  captivate 
and  impose  on  the  imagination^  and  produce  a  happy  moral  influence. 
So  far  as  they  are  regarded  as  the  insignia  of  the  rank,  it  is  evident 


55 

that  the  civil  class  can  claim  no  honours  beyond  those  which  belong  to 
the  rank  they  hold  with  any  more  reason  than  ^they  could  claim  the 
uniform,  or  any  other  outward  and  visible  token  of  a  higher  grade : 
so  far  as  they  relate  to  public  parades  or  festive  occasions,  we  see  no 
sound  reasons  for  assigning  them  an  inferior  place." — Pamphlet 
No.  1. 

The  meaning  of  our  author  seems  to  he^  that  the  ob- 
servances of  ceremony  in  military  institutions  belong  alone 
to  rank,  and  as  the  "  pomp  and  circumstance"  they  constitute 
form  the  prestige  of  the  service,  which  captivates  and  im- 
poses on  the  imagination,  thus  producing  a  happy  moral 
influence  over  subordinates,  it  should  be  restricted  to  it.  He 
has  told  us,  in  another  place,  rank  has  not  been  given  to  the 
staff  corps,  consequently  they  require  none  of  the  insignia  to 
designate  what  they  do  not  possess ;  he  truly  says,  "  the  civil 
class  can  claim  no  honours  beyond  those  which  belong  to  the 
rank  they  hold." 

The  uniform  dress  given  to  the  members  of  military  com- 
munities was  devised  "  not  to  gratify  individual  pride,  though 
such  may  be  an  incidental  consequence,"  but  as  a  mark  to 
characterize  the  grade  to  which  each  belongs.  To  borrow 
the  terms  used  by  naturalists  in  classification,  for  illustration ; 
— in  the  military  kingdom,  the  hrancli  navy  is  designated 
by  peculiar  buttons ;  the  family  of  ofiicers  is  characterized  by 
swords  at  the  side ;  the  tribe  of  commission  officers,  is  known 
by  epaulets  on  the  shoulders,  and  the  several  genera  of  this 
trihe  may  be  recognised  by  some  characteristic  difference  in 
material,  form,  size,  or  ornament  of  the  epaulets.  Such  is 
briefly  the  long-existing  system  of  military  badges,  which 
indicate  to  all  members  of  the  military  community  the  kind 
of  ceremonial  of  respect  with  which  the  presence  of  each  is 
to  be  acknowledged.  For  this  reason,  these  badges  are 
equally  important  to  all,  whether  of  the  line  or  staff.  After 
the  general  orders  which  confer  assimilated  rank  were  pro- 
mulgated, distinctive  epaulets  were  added  to  the  uniform 
of  medical  officers  and  pursers,  so  that,  still  to  borrow  natural 
history  terms,  the  badges  they  wear  clearly  mark  them  as  of 
the  trihe  of  commission  officers ;  of  the  genus  commander  or 
lieutenant ;  species  surgeon  or  purser,  &c.  But  some  gentle- 
men of  the  line,  supposing,  perhaps,  that  epaulets  served  to 
gratify  individual  pride  in  medical  officers  and  pursers,  rather 
than  any  other  purpose ;  and  believing  too,  that  the  multi- 


56 

plication  of  these  ornaments  in  the  service  tended  to  lessen 
the  "  pomp  and  circumstance,"  which  captivated  and  imposed 
on  the  imagination  when  they  were  worn  only  in  the  line,  re- 
quested the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  they  might  be  excused 
from  wearing  them  any  longer,  suggesting  indirectly  that 
epaulets  should  be  thereafter  worn  only  by  lieutenants  of  the 
line,  medical  officers,  and  pursers.  The  following  extract 
from  a  communication  signed  "  An  Old  Captain,"  published 
in  the  "National  Intelligencer"  at  the  time,  is  a  graphic 
picture  of  what  was  conjectured  would  be  the  effect  of  this 
innovation,  and  is  also  indicative  of  the  kind  of  feeling  which 
existed  on  the  subject. 

"  If  these  borrowed  plumes  be  indispensable  to  non-combatants  and 
inferior  officers,  if  they  are  necessary  to  maintain  their  dignity  and 
respectability  in  the  navy,  let  them  retain  them  by  all  means ;  and  if 
they  cannot  be  respected  without  them,  I  would  even  allow  them  to 
put  one  additional  epaulet  on  each  shoulder  for  every  ten  years' 
service ;  yes,  they  might  cover  their  neck  and  shoulders  as  thickly 
with  gold  bullion  as  any  New  Zealand  chief  ever  was  with  boar's  teeth, 
if  it  would  add  dignity  to  the  man,  or  skill  to  his  profession.  But  at 
the  same  time  that  non-combatants  and  inferior  officers  of  the  navy  are 
exalted,  pray  relieve  the  veterans  of  high  rank  from  the  pains  and 
penalties  imposed  upon  them  by  the  annihilation  of  ancient  and  well- 
understood  insignia  of  rank.  It  is  no  small  matter  or  imaginary 
grievance  to  the  captain  of  a  man-of-war  to  be  summoned  on  deck  a  half 
a  dozen  times  a  day  to  receive  the  captain  of  another  ship,  and  when 
the  visiter  appears  on  deck,  it  is  discovered  that,  instead  of  a  captain, 
a  junior  lieutenant  not  out  of  his  teens,  or  a  doctor  or  purser,  stands 
at  the  gangway,  dumbfounded;  and,  if  a  .man  of  real  worth  and 
merit,  mortified  in  the  extreme  that  he  should  have  been  the  cause  of 
such  unmerited  parade  and  formality.  All  who  have  been  thus  duped 
retire  from  the  deck  in  no  very  pleasant  mood  with  themselves  or  any 
body  else.  Just  then,  and  perhaps  while  descanting  upon  the  absur- 
dity of  the  complained  of  innovations,  a  message  is  again  received  from 
the  quarter-deck  that  Captain  somebody  is  coming  alongside.  Well, 
it  is  said,  a  burnt  child  dreads  the  fire ;  and,  like  the  fable  of  the 
shepherd  boy  and  the  wolf,  the  officers  so  often  duped  by  these  decep- 
tive insignia  remain  quietly  at  their  dinner  or  vocation  below,  till,  lo  ! 
a  midshipman  in  a  state  of  great  trepidation,  bawls  out,  as  he  descends 
the  ladder.  Captain is  on  deck.  The  captain,  unless  he  hap- 
pens to  be  a  very  considerate  gentleman,  of  great  equanimity  of  temper, 
rushes  on  deck,  in  no  very  amiable  mood,  to  receive  and  apologize  to 
his  visiter  for  the  cold  and  disrespectful  reception  given  him,  and,  in 
due  time,  if  not  on  the  spot,  the  first  lieutenant  gets  it  from  the  cap- 
tain, the  officer  of  the  deck  from  the  first  lieutenant,  the  midshipman 


57 

from  the  officer  of  the  deck,  and,  like  as  not,  the  poor  quartermaster 
gets  a  dozen  lashes  on  his  hare  hack^  with  a  cat-o'-nine-tails,  and  all 
because  non-combatants  and  lieutenants  of  the  navy  now-a-days  cannot 
maintain  their  dignity  and  respectability  without  being  bedecked  with 
two  epaulets." 

Both  the  formal  request,  and  this  very  excellent  jeu- 
d^esprit,  failed  to  effect  their  purpose  :  of  course  no  quarter- 
master would  be  flogged  for  not  distinguishing  between  the 
several  kinds  of  epaulets.  Yet,  it  might  be  well  to  con- 
sider whether  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  should  not  be 
granted  so  far,  at  least,  as  to  give  a  much  more  simple  uni- 
form to  the  higher  grades,  both  of  the  line  and  staff",  than  at 
present  prescribed.  It  may  be  safely  conjectured  that  no 
surgeon  or  purser  of  years  is  pleased  to  wear  a  showy  uni- 
form, however  strenuously  he  might  contend,  on  principle, 
to  have  assigned  him  a  uniform  dress,  corresponding  in 
its  badges  with  those  with  whom  he  may  be  assimilated  in 
rank. 

A  recent  pamphlet,  entitled  "  A  Few  Thoughts  upon  Rank 
in  the  Navy,"*  attributed  to  a  junior  lieutenant,  refers  to 
uniform  in  the  following  manner  : 

"  Dress  is  one  of  those  adventitious  aids  which,  like  etiquette,  is 
found  in  military  life  to  be  an  available  means  of  increasing  respect 
for  authority.  For  any  other  purpose  than  to  give  weight  to  his  offi- 
cial position,  the  man  who  should  walk  in  our  puhlie  thoroughfares  in 
the  garh  of  a  navy  lieutenant,  would  be  justly  looked  upon  as  a  har- 
lequin. It  is  the  end  above,  which  gives  any  dignity  or  respectability 
to  the  custom  of  covering  our  necessary  clothing  with  patches  of  gold 
lace  and  stripes  of  bullion.  Now  in  practice,  it  has  always  been  found 
necessary  to  vary  the  dress  of  officers  to  whom  different  degrees  of 
power  have  been  delegated,  so  that  the  governed  may  know  at  a 
glance  the  character  of  the  personage  who  challenges  their  obedience, 
and  may  pay  those  outward  marks  of  deference  due  to  the  office. 
The  mind  of  man,  it  would  seem,  can  conceive  no  object  for  which  a 
surgeon  or  purser  need  invest  himself  with  these  trappings,  cumber- 
some in  themselves,  not  beautiful  to  the  eye,  and,  apart  from  their 
uses,  the  most  absurd  things  imaginable.  If  the  thing  were  stated 
for  the  first  time  to  a  gentleman  not  conversant  with  naval  affairs, 
that  civil  officers  wore  all  the  outward  badges  of  military  rank,  it 
would  excite  the  greatest  possible  wonder.  Slost  persons,  however, 
even  in  the  navy,  say  that  this  is  a  small  matter,  and  we  will  not 
dwell  long  upon  it." 

*  8vo.  pp.  18.  Philadelphia,  1850. 


58 

After  stating  the  dates  of  changes  made  in  naval  uniform 
since  1830,  the  author  continues : 

"  But  these  same  ghttering  badges  of  militai«v  authority  now 
seemed  to  have  charms  for  the  civilians  of  the  navy.  This  was  sufl&- 
cient — an  order  from  the  Navy  Department  bestows  all  which  is 
asked,  and  we  now  see  the  captain  who,  in  1815,  captured  the  Cyane 
and  Levant,  side  hy  side  with  the  youth  who  yesterday  left  one  of  our 
medical  schools,  alike  rejoicing^  in  their  brilliant  pair  of  swabs. 
Indeed,  so  absurd  has  become  the  appearance  presented  by  the  array 
of  non-combatant  military  insignia,  that  some  of  our  veterans  have 
applied  for  leave  to  dispense  with  their  epaulets  altogether,  and  have 
got  rid  of  some  of  their  lace.  If  they  succeed  in  the  alteration  which 
they  wish,  of  course  none  of  us  can  submit  to  the  degradation  of 
epaulets.  Now  how  utterly  puerile  and  unmanly  all  this  seems. 
What  we  aver  is,  that  there  is  no  position  in  which  a  surgeon  or 
purser  in  the  navy  can  be  placed^  where  there  will  be  any  occasion 
for  him  to  be  clad  in  any  other  dress  than  that  which  the  President 
of  the  United  States  wears  in  the  city  of  "Washington.  Their  duties 
are  purely  civil — they  have  not  one  single  iota  of  military  authority 
which  requires  the  factitious  aid  of  dress,  and  will  be  always  just  as 
much  respected  in  a  black  coat  as  in  a  lieutenant's  uniform.  The 
truth  of  this  is  evident  from  the  circumstance,  that  the  chaplains 
always  wear  blacky  and  are  always  treated  [therefore  ?]  with  the 
greatest  consideration.  We  hear  no  complaints  from  them — on  the 
contrary,  they  bear  willing  ivitness  to  the  urbanity  and  courtesy  with 
which  they  have  been  treated  by  officers.  And  this,  too,  without 
uniform^  or  rank ;  for  no  general  order  has  yet  ennobled  them." 

*  Navy  Uniform  Kegulation. — "  Chaplain's  Coat. — To  be  of  dark  blue 
cloth,  with  rolling-collar  of  black  velvet,  in  other  respects  like  the  undress 
coat  of  the  lieutenants."     1841. 

"  Chaplains  shall  wear  a  black  coat,  with  black  velvet  collar  and  the  navy 
button  now  in  use.  (They  need  not,  however,  provide  themselves  with  new 
coats  until  those  they  now  have  are  worn  out.)  While  performing  religious 
services  on  the  Sabbath,  or  on  other  occasions,  on  board  vessels  of  war  or  at 
yards  and  shore  stations,  they  shall  wear  the  black  silk  gown  usually  worn 
by  clergymen.^'     January  20,  1844. 

^^  The  Regulation  of  the  20th  January,  1844,  prescribing  a  uniform  for 
chaplains  in  the  navy,  is  so  modified,  that,  in  performing  divine  service,  the 
chaplain  may,  in  his  discretion,  wear  a  black  gown,  a  plain  black  coat,  or  the 
uniform  coat  prescribed  by  that  regulation."     April  23,  1844. 

"  All  commissioned  officers  in  the  navy  may  wear  a  double-breasted  blue 
frock-coat  with  rolling-collar,  nine  buttons  on  each  side,  and  the  usual  num- 
ber of  buttons  on  the  cuffs  and  folds  and  shoulder-straps,  according  to  their 
respective  grades." 

Some  chaplains  avail  themselves  of  this  permission. 


59 

To  this  is  added  the  following,  in  a  note  : — 

"  By  the  present  uniform  the  most  ridiculous  mistakes  are  liahie 
to  occuvj  as  seven  different  grades  of  officers  wear  epaulets,  without 
sufficient  distinction  in  other  parts  of  the  dress  to  prevent  confusion. 
If  it  be  said,  that  in  giving  lieutenants  two  epaulets,  we  follow  the 
fashion  of  the  English  navy,  we  reply  that  by  continuing  the  old  style 
of  one  only,  we  should  have  followed  the  example  of  the  Spanish ; 
and  if  foreign  precedents  are  necessary,  we  consider  the  Spaniard 
as  good  authority  in  matters  of  dress  and  etiquette,  as  are  the  English 
in  sound  conservative  views  of  naval  discipline  and  efficiency." 

This  is  a  tolerably  fair  spegimen  of  "  A  Few  Thoughts  upon 
Kank  in  the  Navy,"  which  is  noticed  simply  to  render  the 
literary  history  of  this  controversy  more  complete.  As  the 
pamphlet  urges  views  similar  to  those  presented  in  pamphlet 
No.  1,  it  does  not  seem  necessary  to  occupy  space  with  any 
additional  quotations  from  it;  This  gentleman  strongly 
deprecates  the  idea  of  admitting  to  seats  in  a  court-martial, 
gentlemen  "whose  business,  and  only  business,  it  is  to 
heal  the  sick ;"  rather  than  see  this,  he  says,  "  we  trust  the 
American  navy  may  be  disbanded,"  &c. 

It  is  seemingly  incongruous  to  bedeck  a  physician  in  epau- 
lets ;  but  this  ornament  or  badge  is  really  not  less  in  har- 
mony with  the  peaceful  and  benevolent  nature  of  medical 
science,  than  the  sword,  gold  embroidery,  gold  lace,  cocked 
hat,  and  navy  buttons,  which  have  been  long  worn  by  medical 
officers  in  the  navy,  as  well  as  in  the  army,  without  exciting 
condemnatory  remarks  by  military  men.  The  incongruity  dis- 
appears, in  a  measure  at  least,  on  learning  that  such  badges  are 
not  imposed  on  medical  officers  because  they  are  physicians, 
but  because  they  are  members  of  a  military  community,  and 
therefore  required  to  conform  to  its  fashions  and  laws.  The 
same  is  true  of  military  chaplains,  who  by  the  regulations  on 
the  subject,  not  very  long  since,  wore  hlite  coats,  with  navy 
buttons.  One  who  could  treat  indecorously  a  chaplain, 
knowing  his  office,  might  be  suspected  of  being  capable  of 
impoliteness  towards  ladies  :  both  are  alike  entitled  to  special 
respect  on  the  ground  that  good  breeding  has  determined, 
they  cannot  either  give  or  reciprocate  an  affront  under  any 
provocation. 


60 


PRACTICAL  INCONVENIENCE  RESULTING  FROM  ASSIMILATED  RANK. 

"  The  object  of  this  paper  has  been  rather  to  discuss  general  prin- 
ciples than  to  descend  into  details.  We  will  there^re  forbear  noticing 
more  particularly  the  practical  inconveniences  and  unhappy  contro- 
versies into  which  the  recent  regulations  have  plunged  us.  It  is 
believed  these  rules  of  assimilation  [page  20],  pernicious  in  them- 
selves, have  been  productive  of  more  serious  evils  from  the  latitude 
with  which  they  have  been  construed.  It  is  thought  they  never  con- 
templated an  officer's  being  tried  for  disrespect  to  the  surgeon  as  his 
superior,  or  a  purser  declining  to  superintend  the  passing  of  powder, 
his  usual  office  at  quarters,  or  of  any  other  of  the  equally  novel  and 
startling  events  that  have  of  late  interrupted  the  harmony  of  the 
service.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  notwithstanding  mili- 
tary authority  is  denied  in  explicit  terms  to  the  class  for  whose  benefit 
those  regulations  were  framed,  it  has  been  ingeniously  sought  so  to 
interpret  them  as  to  favour  the  claim  to  the  exercise  of  authority  of 
some  kind,  though  what'  other  than  military  authority  can  exist  in 
military  institutions  we  are  totally  at  a  loss  to  conjecture.  It  is  a 
general  conviction,  that  the  present  combined,  and  systematic,  and 
zealous  efforts  of  the  civil  class  are  directed  to  objects  more  substan- 
tial" and  positive  than  the  empty  honours  of  ceremony  and  etiquette ; 
to  meet  and  defeat  their  purposes  we  have  endeavoured  to  show  that 
they  already  possess  all  the  rank  and  authority  that  are  needful  for 
the  effectual  discharge  of  their  duties,  or  that  the  convenience  or  ne- 
cessities of  the  service  require." — Pamphlet  No.  1. 

"  The  assertion  that  no  difficulty  has  thus  far  been  occasioned  by 
the  assimilation  of  rank  is  an  error,  as  many  cases  which  have 
occurred  abroad  will  prove.  We  know  at  least  of  one  instance  which 
occurred  in  the  gulf  squadron,  and  are  aware  of  a  court-martial  in 
the  Pacific^  which  found  an  acting  master  guilty  of  disrespect  to  his 
superior  officer^  when  said  claim  to  superiority  ivas  based  upon  the 
assimilation  of  rank,'' — Pamphlet  No.  2. 

The  writer  has  reason  to  believe  that  the  "  acting  master," 
found  guilty  by  a  court-martial  for  disrespect  to  a  surgeon,  is 
the  author  of  Pamphlet  No.  2,  and,  therefore,  he  has  strong 
grounds  for  being  "  aware"  of  the  case.  The  court  was  con- 
stituted of  li7ie  officers  exclusively,  and  the  accused  is  also  of 
the  line.  It  is  presumed,  therefore,  if  there  was  any  dispo- 
sition to  favour  either  the  surgeon  or  acting  master  in  the 
court,  the  accused  would  have  been  most  likely  to  benefit  by 
it.  The  author  of  the  above  paragraph  does  not  question 
the  justice  of  the  decision  or  the  sentence  to  be  reprimanded 
and  dismissed  the  squadron,  but  complains  of  the  rule  under 
which  the  verdict  was  found.     The  evidence  of  disrespect 


61 

must  have  been  very  conclusive,  or  our  author  would  have 
appealed.  To  unprejudiced  minds  it  will  most  probably 
appear  that  this  case  alone  is  a  cogent  argument  in  behalf  of 
the  General  Order  conferring  assimilated  rank.  The  infe- 
rence is  clear,  that  in  the  opinion  of  our  author,  a  staff  officer 
could  not  be  subject  to  "  disrespect,"  were  it  not  for  assimila- 
tion of  rank ;  and  in  this  opinion  he  is  probably  correct,  be- 
cause the  solely  unquestioned  statute  in  the  navy  (the  act  of 
1800)  provides  penalty  only  for  disrespect  to  a  "superior 
officer;"  and  if  the  General  Order  had  not  defined  it,  the 
court  might  have  dismissed  the  charge,  on  the  ground  that 
the  statute  does  not  explicitly  assign  any  rank  to  surgeons,  and 
therefore  the  superiority  of  the  surgeon  could  not  be  ascer- 
tained. As  far  as  this  case  bears  upon  the  assertion  of  our 
authors,  that  assimilation  of  rank  causes  inconvenience,  it  is 
against  their  opinion ;  and  the  finding  of  the  court,  as  well 
as  approval  of  it,  and  execution  of  the  sentence  by  the  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  squadron,  is  conclusive  evidence  that 
all  line  officers  in  the  navy  do  not  agree  with  them  in  the 
notion  that  the  "General  Orders"  (p.  20)  are  illegal. 

All  the  other  cases  of  "  practical  inconvenience"  resulting 
from  assimilated  rank,  referred  to  by  the  several  pamph- 
leteers, are  similar  in  character.  In  fact  the  disagreements 
in  question  are  not  attributable  to  assimilated  rank,  as  sup- 
posed ;  but  to  reluctance  on  the  part,  of  certain  line  officers 
to  fairly  construe  the  General  Orders  conferring  it,  or  to  yield 
obedience  to  them  in  accordance  with  a  plain  construction. 
The  fact  that  legal  authority  is  sometimes  openly  resisted,  is 
not  a  conclusive  reason  for  the  abrogation  of  law  and 
authority. 

All  the  cases  brought  forward  to  prove  the  "  practical  in- 
convenience" of  assimilated  rank,  will  be  found,  on  fair 
examination,  to  have  been  cases  of  disobedience  of  the 
General  Orders  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  which  cannot 
be  palliated  by  alleging,  directly  or  indirectly,  that  these 
orders  could  not  be  obeyed  without  palpable  injury  to  public 
interests,  connected  with  the  naval  service.  Allegations  of 
such  a  character  are  at  once  negatived,  by  the  undeniable 
fact,  that  in  all  cases  in  which  those  General  Orders  have 
been  obeyed  in  spirit  and  to  the  letter,  the  public  good  has 
in  no  respect  suffered. 

In  opposition  may  be  arrayed  the  declaration  of  a  number 


62 

of  highly  respectable  line  officers  that  the  assimilated  rank 
given  has  been  "  at  the  expense  of  the  discipline  and  harmony 
of  the  service,  and  of  the  rights  of  officers  who  entered  the 
service  long  before  them."  This  declaration  is  made  jointly 
by  25  captains,  43  commanders,  and  79  lieutenants.  These 
gentlemen  have  signed  a  general  letter,  dated,  "  Philadelphia, 
March,  1850,"  and  addressed  "To  the  Hon.  Wm.  Ballard 
Preston,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,"  in  which  they  ask  attention 
"to  the  ensuing  remarks  and  subjoined  communication."* 
The  whole  is  printed,  and  has  been  in  the  hands  of  members 
of  the  naval  committees  of  both  Houses  of  Congress.  It  con- 
sists almost  entirely  of  assertions;  it  contains  no  statement 
or  argument  which  has  not  been  fairly  controverted  in  a 
printed  "  reply ."f  Therefore  the  writer  proposes  to  examine 
how  far  it  should  be  regarded  as  testimony,  to  prove  that 
assimilated  rank  is  "  at  the  expense  of  discipline." 

Of  the  68  captains  in  the  navy,  25  have  their  names  ap- 
pended as  vouching  for  this  statement;  but  of  the  25  no  less 
than  12  have  not  been  at  sea  since  the  orders  in  question 
were  issued.  Of  these  12,  one  has  not  been  at  sea  since  1807, 
and  only  one  of  them  since  1845,  the  year  prior  to  the  Gene- 
ral Order  of  August  31,  1846. 

Of  97  commanders,  the  names  of  43  vouch  for  the  state- 
ment; but  of  these  15  have  not  been  at  sea  since  the  General 
Order  was  promulgated. 

Of  327  lieutenants,  79  have  their  names  appended  to  the 
letter;  of  this  number  10  have  not  been  at  sea  since  1846, 
and  14  are  on  what  may  be  regarded  as  staff  duty. 

It  is  believed  that  many  line  officers  have  declined  signing 
the  paper. 

In  all  probability,  those  gentlemen  who  have  not  been 
attached  to  sea-going  vessels  since  1845  have  not  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  know,  from  their  own  observation,  anything  on  this 
point;  and  added  the  influence  of  their  names  at  the  request  of 
their  friends,  upon  whom  they  of  course  relied.  Therefore  the 
testimonials  of  at  least  37  of  the  147  would  be  ruled  out  in 
a  court  of  law.     But  if  no  one  of  these  witnesses  was  ques- 

*  Assimilated  Rank  in  the  Navy,  its  Injurious  Operation  upon  the  Dis- 
cipline, Harmony,  and  General  Good  of  the  Naval  Service.     8vo.  pp.  13. 

-f-  Reply  to  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject  of  "  Assimilated  Rank,"  referred  to 
in  a  memorial  submitted  to  the  Secretary  by  sundry  line  officers  of  the  navy, 
dated  March,  1850. 


63 

tioned  as  to  his  competency  to  testify,  still  they  detail  no 
case  in  corroboration  of  their  statement,  that  assimilated  rank 
is  at  the  expense  of  the  discipline  of  the  service.  They  allude 
to  one  case,  and  to  only  one  under  the  General  Orders,  which 
they  characterize  as  "  vague,  indefinite,  and  impracticable" — 
"involving  a  military  solecism  without  parallel,  as  recently 
exhibited  in  the  squadron  on  the  coast  of  Africa." 

This  case  was  simply  one  of  disobedience  on  the  part  of  a 
lieutenant  who  refused  to  yield  precedence  to  a  purser  who 
was  his  senior,  in  accordance  with  the  General  Order,  both 
being  of  a  mixed  board,  appointed  to  inspect  provisions^  a  duty 
more  german  to  the  staff  than  to  the  line.  Had  the  lieu- 
tenant signed  the  report  of  the  board  heloio  the  purser,  it  is 
difiicult  to  conjecture  in  what  manner  the  discipline  of  the 
service,  or  the  public  good,  could  have  been  impaired.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  to  whom  the  case  was  referred,  had 
"  no  doubt  that  Lieutenant  Keid  assumed  a  precedence  over 
Purser  Heiskell  directly  in  contravention  of  the  regulation."* 

The  case  of  Purser  F ,  which  occurred  in  the  Pacific, 

is  of  a  similar  character :  he  complains  that  the  General  Order 
of  May  27, 1847,  was  disregarded  in  not  giving  him  due  pre- 
cedence, in  orders  assigning  him  to  duty  on  mixed  boards  for 
the  inspection  of  provisions,  &c. 

Under  a  notion  that  obedience  to  the  General  Order  is  im- 
practicable, the  commodore  avoided  compliance  with  it.  He 
argued  the  subject  in  kindly  terms,  and  shows  he  has  given 
some  attention  to  the  principles  of  military  organization. 
He  recognises  "regular  officers  of  the  line;"  but  alludes  to 
the  staff  under  the  name  of  "  non-combatants,"-)-  a  term  which 
seems  to  be  inappropriate  to  designate  those  who  supervise 
the  supply  of  powder  from  the  magazine  to  the  battery  during 
battle. 

Philologists  might  find  amusement  in  tracing  the  origin  of 
this  term  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States.  It  is  not  sanc- 
tioned by  use  in  the  Queen's  Regulations  (1844),  nor  in  the 
Commissioners  Regulations  (1818).  To  designate  as  a  noiv- 
combatant  any  member  of  a  military  organization,  the  very 
purpose  of  which  is  battle,  seems  inconsistent ;  if  members  of 

*  See  Appendix.  Letter  of  Honourable  J.  Y.  Mason  to  Commodore 
Bolton. 

f  See  Appendix.     Correspondence  between  Commodore and  Purser 

S F . 


64 

the  line  of  an  army  or  navy  were  officially  recognised  as  com- 
batants, it  might  be  conjectured  it  was  not  difficult  to  invent 
the  name  of  non-combatants  for  the  staff,  but,  as  previously 
indicated,  there  are  staff  officers  who  do  not  necessarily  en- 
gage in  personal  conflict,  whose  services  are  nevertheless 
indispensable  to  success  in  the  field.  There  were  combatants 
in  the  Olympic  games  who  fought  for  a  prize ;  but  they  were 
not  military  men.  The  word  combat  conveys  the  idea  of 
dealing  blows  reciprocally  between  two  individuals  or  a 
limited  number  of  individuals,  who  are  styled  combatants. 
The  members  of  a  universal  Peace  Society  should  be  literally 
non-combatants;  but  there  is  no  analogy  between  them  and 
the  architects,  who  erect  forts  or  bridges ;  or  surveyors,  who 
plot-out  ground  for  camps  or  battle-fields,  for  the  use  of  sol- 
diers. Technically,  there  are  no  such  terms  in  military 
science  as  combatant  and  non-combatant.  The  ancient 
Board  of  Navy  Commissioners,  in  an  official  report,  dated 
January,  1821,  in  answer  to  a  question  by  a  naval  committee 
of  Congress,  whether  the  marine  corps  could  be  economically 
reorganized,  say,  it  is  "properly  a  military  question,  and  as 
they  have  never  turned  their  attention  to  subjects  of  that  na- 
ture^ they  do  not  feel  themselves  competent  to  form  a  satis- 
factory opinion  upon  it."*  It  is  probable,  however,  that 
military  technology  not  being  generally  understood  in  the 
navy  previous  to  that  time,  was  really  the  cause  of  inventing 
the  term  non-combatant,  the  use  of  which  might  be  dispensed 
with,  simply  because  it  may  serve  as  the  basis  of  invidious 
comparisons. 

The  commodore  says  truly,  "no  such  rank  or  grade  as 
executive  officers  is  known  to  the  law;  every  officer,  what- 
ever may  be  his  grade  or  rank  in  the  navy,  charged  with 
the  performance  of  any  particular  duty,  becomes  an  ^execu- 
tive  officer,'  while  he  is  executing  the  orders  of  a  superior." 
The  inference  from  the  whole  argument  is  that  the  operation 
of  assimilated  rank  should  not  be  impeded  by  an  exception  in 
favour  of  "  commanding  and  executive  officers"  which  was  in- 
serted, it  is  said,  as  a  compromise  to  the  views  of  the  line, 
and  designed  to  apply  to  those  officers,  only  on  board  of  the 
vessels  to  which  they  are  attached,  but  when  detached  on 
any  special  duty,  such  as  courts,  processions,  or  mixed  boards, 

*  American  State  Papers.     Vol.  Naval  Affairs,  p.  684. 


65 

ceasing  to  be  for  the  time,  "  commanding  and  executive  offi- 
cers," their  precedence  would  be  determined  by  their  lineal 
rank  and  the  assimilated  rank  of  the  staff-officers  associated 
with  them  in  a  procession,  on  a  board,  or  on  a  court.  Under 
this  construction  there  would  be  little  difficulty  in  complying 
with  the  order,  the  interpretation  of  which  would  have  been 
less  doubtful,  had  the  words  "  to  exercise  military  command," 
in  the  last  paragraph,  read,  to  exercise  command  in  the  line  of 
the  navy. 

The  "  one  instance  which  occurred  in  the  Gulf  Squadron," 
referred  to  by  the  author  of  Pamphlet  No.  2,  if  the  writer  is  not 
mistaken  in  the  allusion,  had  no  direct  reference  to  assimilated 
rank,  although  the  contrary  is  currently  asserted.  A  difficulty 
or  misunderstanding  did  occur  between  an  eminent  surgeon 

and  the  captain  of  the  frigate ,  while  attached  to  the 

Gulf  Squadron  in  1846-7.  The  writer  is  authorized  to  quote 
from  a  letter,  dated  January  18th,  1848,  addressed  by  the 
surgeon  to  a  member  of  the  Naval  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  He  says :  "  The  fact  is,  sir,  that  my  dif- 
ficulty with  the  late  captain  of  the ,  was  totally  un- 
connected with  the  question  of  rank ;  though  I  have  good 
reason  to  believe  that  he  has  laboured  to  favour  that  version 
of  the  story  as  the  one  that  can  be  told  with  least  discredit 
to  himself 

"  I  charged  Captain officially  (as  it  was  my  duty 

to  do),  with  attempting  to  exercise  capricious  cruelty  towards 
the  sick  of  the  ship.  I  conceive  I  have  fully  established  my 
charge,  and  I  have  left  it  with  the  proofs,  on  record.  Cap- 
tain   's  charges  against  me  were  retaliatory ^  and  un- 
supported by  any  testimony  but  his  own  word.  They  were 
dismissed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  do  not  stand 
against  me.  The  Secretary,  moreover,  by  a  formal  act,  re- 
lieved my  character  from  all  imputed  censure,  and  restored 
me,  with  honour,  to  my  position  in  the  squadron. 

"Having  consented,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  for  the 
credit  of  the  service,  that  no  public  investigation  of  this  dis- 
reputable business  should  take  place,  I  feel  that  it  does  not 
become  me  to  agitate  it  anew,  nor  shall  I  do  so,  except  in 
self-defence.  I  deposited  at  the  time,  in  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, a  narrative  of  the  facts  as  they  occurred,  with  docu- 
mentary proofs  sufficient  to  sustain  it :  and  those  papers  are 
of  course  easily  accessible." 

5 


66 

It  is  true  that  prior  to  the  difficulty  above  referred  to,  the 
surgeon  was  assigned  a  position  in  a  procession  not  in  accord- 
ance with  the  General  Order ;  but  the  commodore,  to  whom 
the  surgeon  afterwards  mentioned  the  fact,  seemed  to  think 
the  slight  thus  put  upon  him  was  "  accidental  and  not  inten- 
tional," and,  therefore,  the  discussion  was  dropped,  with  a 
promise  that  it  should  be  a  subject  of  conversation  with  the 
captain  who  acted  as  marshal  or  master  of  ceremonies  on  the 
occasion. 

A  recent  case  of  difference  of  opinion  on  the  true  meaning 
of  the  General  Orders,  (page  20,)  is  referred  to  in  the  "  com- 
munication" subjoined,  to  the  general  letter  of  officers  of  the 
line,  in  the  following  words  : 

"  The  author  of  this  pamphlet,*  on  the  first  page  speaks  of  the 
issue  which  has  recently  arisen  on  this  question  of  rank,  between  a 
commander  and  a  surgeon,  which  caused  the  reference  by  the  Navy 
Department  to  the  Attorney-General.  That  commander's  plea  is  on 
file  in  the  Department,  and  it  will  show  how  unauthorized  is  the  idea 
conveyed,  that  any  influence  was  sought  to  be  used  afiecting  the 
'•  free  and  unbiassed  exercise'  of  the  surgeon's  ^  own  deliberate  judg- 
ment' serving  on  the  Board  alluded  to.  Nor  has  anything  of  the 
kind  ever  occurred  in  the  navy  to  justify,  in  the  slightest  degree,  his 
indignant  eloquence  about  '  striking  a  fatal  blow  at  one  of  the  most 
important  and  vital  principles  of  law  and  justice.'  There  is  no  dispo- 
sition to  have  ^  united  judgment'  merged  and  swallowed  up  in  the  one 
man  principle,  which  is  justly  execrated  as  the  root  and  most  bitter 
fruit  of  rank  despotism.  The  author  of  this  'Appeal'  could  not  have 
conversed  with  the  eminent  surgeon  who  served  on  the  Board  in  ques- 
tion, he  could  never  have  received  from  him  any  grounds  for  these 
rhapsodies." 

These  sentences  suggest  a  suspicion  that  all  the  147  sign- 
ers of  the  letter  did  not  examine  this  "  subjoined  communi- 
cation" before  appending  their  names,  because  it  is  not 
probable  that  some  of  them  would  not  have  discovered  that 
Dr.  Pinkney  does  not  put  forth  any  one  of  the  ideas  thus 
attributed  to  him.  His  words,  fairly  interpreted,  do  not 
admit  of  the  construction  given  them  by  the  author  of  the 
"  subjoined  communication."     They  are  as  follows : 

*  An  Appeal  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  concerning  the  Relative 
Rank  of  the  Medical  Officers  and  Pursers  of  the  Navy.  By  Ninian  Pinkney, 
Surgeon  U.  S.  N.  February,  1850.  8vo.  pp.  10.  George  McGregor.  Bal- 
timore, 1850. 


61 

"  Now,  it  will  scarcely  be  denied,  that  the  orders  issued,  conferred 
a  relative  rank  that  was  to  be  enjoyed  somewhere,  at  some  time;  that 
it  was  more  than  an  unmeaning  mockery,  a  mere  empty  shadow,  for 
otherwise  it  would  have  been  vain  and  useless  to  have  inserted  a  clause, 
requiring  the  medical  officer  and  purser  to  yield  precedence  to  the 
commanding  and  executive  officer.  Why  restrict  the  exercise  of  the 
right,  if  there  be  no  place  or  time  in  which  it  could  be  exercised  or 
enjoyed  ?  Is  it  not  perfectly  clear,  that  from  this  ver^  clause,  that 
the  claim  to  precedence  must  depend  upon  date  of  commission  on  all 
occasions  not  specified  as  prohibited  by  the  regulations  ?  If  not,  then 
the  regulation  is  an  absolute  nullity.  By  our  construction,  this  rela- 
tive rank  is  to  be  enjoyed  on  all  occasions,  except  w^hen  the  medical 
officer  and  purser  are  called  to  do  duty  under  the  special  command  of 
the  '  commanding  and  executive  officer'  of  the  ship,  post,  or  station, 
to  which  said  officers  are  attached.  Who  commands  upon  a  board  of 
discipline  ?  Do  not  all  sit  as  equals ;  their  rank  being  alone  deter- 
mined by  date  of  commission  ?  Must  not  each  member,  by  the  very 
nature  of  the  duties  to  be  discharged,  be  left  to  the  free  and  un- 
biassed exercise  of  his  own  deliberate  Judgment  f  A  board  resembles 
somewhat  the  juries  of  our  land.  Each  interest  is  represented.  The 
highest  and  most  influential,  in  official  dignity  and  power,  can  speak 
and  act  with  no  more  authority,  in  the  settlement  of  the  question  to 
be  adjudicated,  than  the  most  insignificant  of  his  official  associates. 
For  one  moment,  recognise  the  existence  of  '  commanding  and  execu- 
tive officers'  upon  boards  thus  constituted,  and  you  strike  a  fatal  blow 
at  one  of  the  most  important  and  vital  principles  of  law  and  justice. 
Let  independent  action  cease  to  be  the  ruling  element,  and  the  beauty 
and  true  glory  of  the  system  vanish.  The  united  judgment  would 
be  merged  and  swallowed  up  in  the  one-man  principle,  which  is  justly 
execrated  as  the  root  and  most  bitter  fruit  of  rank  despotism.  If  the 
medical  officer  and  purser  were  not  permitted  to  enjoy  the  benefit 
of  rank  upon  such  a  board  as  that  convened  for  the  Naval  School  at 
Annapolis,  I  would  like  to  know  how  they  could  claim  it  on  courts- 
martial,  surveys,  and  visits  of  ceremony ;  and,  if  not  in  any  of  these, 
where  ?  The  fact  is,  upon  such  a  construction  of  the  regulation,  they 
would  be  effectually  shut  out,  on  all  occasions,  and  at  all  times.  This 
would  be  indeed  a  taunting  mockery.  For  what  is  rank,  when  it  be- 
comes a  contraband  thing,  proscribed  upon  every  spot,  where  it  could 
be  practically  enjoyed?" 

Those  gentlemen  have  given  a  special  application  to  Dr. 
Pinkney's  general  argument,  in  which  there  is  nothing  to 
justify  the  assertion  that  an  "idea  is  conveyed,  that  any  in- 
fluence was  sought  to  be  used  affecting  the  free  and  unbiassed 
exercise  of  the  surgeon's  own  deliberate  judgment.'^  They 
have  totally  misconceived  the  statement  of  Dr.  Pinkney; 
they  would  not  intentionally  misrepresent  him. 


68 

In  the  autumn  of  1849,  a  mixed  board  was  assembled  at 
Washington  to  devise  rules  for  the  Naval  Academy  at  An- 
napolis. The  board  consisted  of  a  captain,  three  comman- 
ders, a  professor  of  mathematics,  and  a  surgeon.  The  whole 
proceedings  of  the  board  were  conducted  in  a  spirit  of  entire 
kindness ;  every  member  of  the  board  evincing  a  zealous 
desire  to  accomplish  satisfactorily  the  duty  assigned  it. 
There  was  no  assumption  on  the  part  of  any  gentleman  pre- 
sent. 

There  was  a  difference  of  opinion  between  Commander 

U and  Surgeon  R ,  as  to  precedence  in  signing  the 

report  of  the  board. 

Commander  U first  argued  that  the  signatures  should 

be  placed  in  the  same  sequence  in  which  the  members  were 
named  in  the  precept  of  the  board. 

Surgeon  R was  ready  to  agree  to  this,  provided  there 

were  any  evidence  that  the  precept  had  been  drawn  in  view 
of  the  question  raised. 

Commander  U next  claimed  precedence  on  the  ground 

that  he  was  a  "  commanding  ofl&cer." 

Surgeon  K objected  that  unless  he  could  show  he  sat 

as  a  member,  in  virtue  of  his  having  been  detailed  from  a 
command,  the  ground  could  not  be  admitted,  because  as  a 
member  of  the  board,  he  could  not  exercise  authority  as  a 
commanding  officer. 

This  difference  of  opinion  was  discussed,  it  is  believed,  in 
kind  feeling;  at  any  rate  there  was  no  manifestation  to 
warrant  a  contrary  impression.  It  was  agreed  to  present 
the  report  without  the  signatures  of  those  two  gentlemen, 
and  to  refer  the  question  for  decision  to  the  Hon.  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  as  an  "  amicable  suit,"  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  Under  the  General  Order  from  the  Department,  dated 
August  31,  1846  [page  20],  which  assigns  an  assimilated 
rank  to  medical  officers.  Commander  U raises  the  ques- 
tion of  precedence  with  Surgeon  R in  signing  the  report 

of  a  mixed  board. 

"  The  present  commission  of  Commander  U ,  is  dated 

February  27,  1847;  that  of  Surgeon  R ,  April  4,  1831, 

and,  consequently,  his  assimilated  rank  as  commander,  dates 
from  April  4,  1843, 

"  The  question  raised  is,  which  name  is  entitled  to  prece- 
dence." 


It  was  agreed  this  question  should  be  submitted  without 
argument  on  either  side.  It  was  simply  one  of  construction ; 
what  is  the  true  import  of  the  General  Order  of  August  31, 
1846? 

Commander  U filed  a  plea,  in  which  he  raises  an  ad- 
ditional issue,  namely,  as  to  the  legality  of  the  order  itself. 

His  plea  sets  forth,  first,  "  That  no  departmental  regulation 
can  deprive"  him  of  his  "  rank  as  established  and  confirmed 
by  immemorial  usage  since  the  first  organization  of  the  navy ; 
that  the  department  (for  example)  might,  with  the  same 
propriety,  and  with  equal  justice,  make"  him  "  rank,  after 
twelve  years'  service,  with  the  junior  post-captain,  or  a  lieu- 
tenant, after  a  like  term,  to  rank  with  commanders." 

Second,  "  That  the  regulation  of  the  department  merely 
states  that  surgeons  and  pursers  of  twelve  years'  standing 
shall  rank  with  commanders.  In  no  act  or  regulation  is  it 
stated  that  a  surgeon  or  purser  can  in  any  event  or  under 
any  circumstances  take  precedence  of  a  commander.  The 
regulations,  by  giving  them  assimilated  rank  with  comman- 
ders, places  them  above  lieutenants,  but  not  above  comman- 
ders." 

In  the  first  argument,  it  is  assumed  that  the  efiect  of  assi- 
milated rank,  is  to  infringe  lineal  rank ;  and  as  lineal  rank 
has  been  established,  the  department  has  no  authority  to 
interfere  with  it  by  regulation  or  otherwise. 

The  same  point  was  brought  forward  and  argued  by  Com- 
mander Goldsborough  in  1848.  "Walter  Jones  has  shown 
that  the  question  of  executive  authority  in  the  premises  has 
been  settled,  and  is  not  open  to  discussion.     He  says : — 

"  For  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  discretionary  authority,  purely 
incidental  to,  and  inseparable  from,  the  executive  power,  and  not  all 
dependent  on  any  special  legislation  to  regulate  and  direct  the  subor- 
dinate departments,  both  civil  and  military,  in  all  the  details  of  their 
administration,  and  the  reasons  of  public  policy  and  necessity,  on 
which  such  authority  rests,  have  all  undergone  judicial  investigation 
the  most  careful  and  thorough,  and  have  all  received  the  impress  of 
the  highest  judicial  sanctions  known  to  our  jurisprudence. 

"  These  judicial  precedents  have  settled  the  nature  and  extent  of 
this  discretionary  authority,  not  only  as  being  incidental  to  '  the  Exe- 
cutive power,'  vested  in  the  President  himself,  but  as  being  alike  inci- 
dental and  necessary  to  the  administration  of  the  subordinate  depart- 
ments, by  their  respective  heads,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  among 


.70 

others,  and  without  any  special  authority  or  direction,  either  from  the 
President  or  Congress. 

"  Let  us,  in  the  first  place,  examine  the  nature  and  extent  of  the 
discretionary  authority  conceded  by  these  decisions  to  the  heads  of 
the  Executive  Departments,  such  as  the  Secretaries  of  War  and 
Navy ;  not  as  being  derived  from  any  special  or  direct  sanction  from 
superior  authority,  either  executive  or  legislative,  but  as  a  merely  in- 
cidental authority,  inherent  in  the  ofiice  of  a  head  of  department. 
Then  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  was  held  entirely  competent  to  ap- 
point one  of  the  regularly  salaried  clerks  of  the  Department  to  per- 
form the  duties  of  paymaster  of  the  Navy  Pension  fund,  and  to  allow 
him  an  extra  salary  for  such  extra  service ;  and  in  answer  to  the 
objection  that  there  was  no  law  authorizing  the  appointment  of  such 
paymaster,  the  Court  said,  '  The  head  of  a  Department  is  not  bound 
to  show  a  statutory  provision  for  every  authority  exercised  by  him. 
No  government  could  be  administered  on  such  principles.  To  attempt 
to  regulate  by  law  the  minute  movements  of  the  complicated  machine 
of  government,  would  evince  unpardonable  ignorance  on  the  subject.' 
(McDaniels'  case,  7  Pet.  Rep.  14.     Fillebrown's  case,  ibid.  30.) 

"  So  in  General  Ripley's  case,  (ibid.  25)  the  Secretary  of  War  was 
held  competent,  of  his  own  authority,  and  at  his  mere  discretion,  to 
assign  a  Brigadier-General  of  the  Army,  the  extra  duty  of  making 
certain  disbursements  (a  Paymaster's  duty) ;  of  preparing  plans  of 
fortifications  (an  Engineer's  duty);  and  of  forwarding  supplies  of 
provisions  for  troops  (a  Commissary's  duty)  ;  and  to  allow  him  extra 
pay  for  the  same.  *  The  amount  of  compensation  for  military  ser- 
vices,' said  the  Court,  'may  depend  in  some  degree  on  the  regulations 
of  the  War  Department.'  But  the  gallant  General  failed  to  establish 
his  set-ofi"  merely  because  he  had  not  produced  '  either  regulations  of 
the  War  Department  or  instructions  from  the  President,'  imposing  on 
him  the  duty  and  authorizing  him  to  expect  extra  compensation  for 
the  performance  of  it. 

"  The  authority  sanctioned  in  those  cases,  though  the  circumstances 
on  which  it  acted  were  not  precisely  the  same  as  in  the  present  case, 
must  be  held  by  the  strictest  analogy,  not  a  whit  less  in  quality  or 
degree  than  the  authority  exercised  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
w^ith  the  President's  sanction,  in  the  present  case. 

*'But  if  that  were  at  all  doubtful,  into  what  insignificance  does  the 
order  now  in  question  dwindle,  before  the  wide  sweep  of  discretionary 
authority,  we  might  say  of  Executive  legislation,  apparent  in  the 
successive  volumes  of  Army  regulations  issued  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment at  difi"erent  times,  from  the  year  1813  to  1825 ;  and  especially 
in  the  regulations  of  1821  and  1825.  Yet  the  Supreme  Court  say, 
in  General  Gratiot's  case  (4  How.  117,  118),  that  the  Court  has  re- 
peatedly decided  that  these  regulations  have  the  force  of  law ;  and 
that  the  particular  regulation,  then  in  question,  is  as  obligatory  as  any 
of  the  rest.     That  was  Article  67,  Section  888,  in  the  regulations  of 


n 

1825 ;  which,  resting  merely  on  executive  authority  and  discretion, 
superadded  to  the  legally  defined  duties  of  the  Colonel  of  the  Engi- 
neer corps  (duties  exclusively  military  in  all  their  aspects  and  rela- 
tions), the  laborious  duties  of  a  civil  engineer  in  superintending  the 
execution  of  roads,  canals,  &c.,  carried  on  at  the  expense,  and  for  the 
exclusive  profit  of  private  individuals  and  corporations.  It  might, 
perhaps,  be  inferred,  with  great  show  of  reason,  that  if  these  offices 
of  civil  life  could  be  imposed  on  military  officers,  at  the  discretion  of 
the  Executive,  so  might  military  functions  be  assigned,  at  the  like 
discretion,  to  the  civil  staff  of  the  army  or  navy ;  and,  consequently, 
military  rank  imparted  to  them."* 

If  the  General  Order  of  August  31,  1846,  is  illegal,  the 
question  of  precedence  is  of  course  solved,  and  medical  offi- 
cers are  left  without  a  position  relatively  to  the  line.  Then, 
too,  the  General  Order  of  May  27,  1847  (page  20),  which 
assigns  an  assimilated  rank  to  pursers,  as  well  as  the  General 
Order  of  August  14th,  1846,f  which  creates  a  grade  of  mas- 
ters in  the  line  of  promotion,  are  null  and  void. 

The  plea  claims  that  Kneal  rank  in  the  navy  was  esta- 
blished and  confirmed  by  immemorial  usage,  and  implies  that, 
therefore,  assimilated  rank  cannot  be  established  by  regula- 
tion. 

Our  common  law  is  said  to  be  derived  from  Great  Britain. 
To  be  available  in  law,  a  custom  must  be  sanctioned  by  gene- 
ral consent,  and  be  undisputed  for  a  very  long  period — cer- 
tainly of  not  less  than  twenty  years.  Next,  if  it  exists,  its 
legality  must  be  established ;  for,  if  it  is  not  a  good  custom, 
it  ought  to  be  no  longer  used.  A  usage  or  custom  to  be 
immemorial  in  England  must  "  have  been  used  so  long,  that 
the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  contrary.     So  that  if 

*  Observations  on  Certain  Objections  to  the  General  Order  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  conferring  Assimilated  Rank  on  the  Surgeons  and  Pursers 
of  the  Navy.     By  Walter  Jones.     Washington:  1848. 

f  '^  General  Order. — Vacancies  in  the  grade  of  masters  may  he  filled  by 
the  oldest  passed-midshipmen  who  are  worthy  of  advancement. 

"The  fitness  of  the  senior  passed-midshipmen  for  advancement  may  be 
established  by  an  examination,  or  by  the  records  of  the  Department,  or  by 
the  testimony  of  the  ofiicers  under  whom  they  have  served,  or  in  such  other 
manner  as  may  be  deemed  proper.  Those  who  may  be  found  not  suited  to 
be  advanced,  may  be  placed  on  furlough  or  dropped  from  the  list. 

"  The  masters  thus  appointed  will  receive  regular  warrants,  and  will  also 
remain  in  the  line  of  promotion. 

"  George  Bancroft. 

"  Navy  Department,  August  14, 1846." 


7J 

any  one  can  show  the  beginning  of  it,  it  is  no  good  custom 
[in  law].  For  which  reason  no  custom  can  prevail  against 
an  express  act  of  parliament,  since  the  statute  itself  is  a 
proof  of  a  time  when  such  custom  did  not  exist."  "  Now 
time  of  memory  hath  been  long  ago  ascertained  by  the  law 
to  commence  from  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Eichard  the 
First ;  and  any  custom  may  be  destroyed  by  evidence  of  non- 
existence in  any  part  of  the  long  period  from  that  time  to 
the  present.'"^ 

On  these  principles  immemorial  usage  in  the  navy  of  the 
United  States,  cannot  be  established  on  this  point,  because 
the  statutes  exhibit  the  origin  of  the  navy  itself  Besides, 
if  it  is  pretended  that  the  existence  of  lineal  rank  is  neces- 
sarily exclusive  of  assimilated  rank  and  was  established  by 
custom,  it  has  already  been  shown  that  the  custom  has  been 
disputed  since  1816  at  least,  and  is,  therefore,  not  a  good 
custom.  Indeed,  the  fact  that  the  captain  makes  regulations 
peculiar  to  the  ship  he  commands  for  the  cruise,  precludes 
the  existence  of  almost  any  custom  common  to  the  entire 
navy. 

But,  even  if  it  be  demonstrated  that  lineal  rank  in  the 
navy  exists,  both  by  law  and  usage,  it  is  not  a  conclusive 
argument  against  the  establishment  of  assimilated  rank  by 
act  of  the  executive  or  legislative  power.  It  is  not  admitted 
that  any  usage  is  paramount  to  legislative  authority :  change 
may  be  made  either  because  it  is  clearly  right,  or  simply  be- 
cause it  is  expedient. 

Even  if  customs  in  the  English  navy  were  admitted  to  be 
indisputable  authority  in  ours,  those  customs  cannot  be 
traced  back  to  the  reign  of  Eichard  I.  Prior  to  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.,  (1660,)  "  no  state,  ancient  or  modern,  had,  before 
that  time,  made  a  complete  separation  between  the  naval 
and  military  services."  "  Great  fleets  had  been  entrusted  to 
the  direction  of  Eupert  and  Monk;  Eupert,  who  was  re- 
nowned chiefly  as  a  hot  and  daring  cavalry  oflicer;  and 
Monk,  when  he  wanted  his  ship  to  tack  to  larboard,  moved 
the  mirth  of  his  crew  by  calling  out,  '  Wheel  to  the  left.'  "f 
About  this  period,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  a  line  was 
drawn,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  origin  of  the  British 
navy.     But  even  then,  the  English  government  not  only 

*  Blackstone^s  Commentaries.  The  reign  of  Eichard  I.  began  about  the 
year  1189.  f  Macaulay's  History  of  England. 


m 

continued  to  distribute  high  naval  commands  among  lands- 
men, but  selected  for  such  commands  landsmen  who,  even 
on  land,  could  not  safely  have  been  put  in  any  important 
trust.  "In  1666,  John  Sheffield,  Earl  of  Mulgrave,  at  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  volunteered  to  serve  at  sea  against  the 
Dutch.  He  passed  six  weeks  on  board,  diverting  himself  as 
well  as  he  could,  in  the  society  of  some  young  libertines  of 
rank,  and  then  returned  home  to  take  command  of  a  troop  of 
horse.  After  this,  he  was  never  on  the  water  till  the  year  1772, 
when  he  again  joined  the  fleet,  and  was  almost  immediately 
appointed  captain  of  a  ship  of  eighty-four  guns,  reputed  the 
finest  in  the  navy."*  It  was  impossible  to  trust  the  working 
of  a  ship  to  such  novices,  and,  therefore,  the  direction  of 
navigation  was  given  to  the  master.  This  gave  rise  to 
wrangling ;  and  the  captain,  confident  in  proportion  to  his 
ignorance,  treated  the  master  with  lordly  contempt.  In 
those  days,  w^hen  naval  usage  began,  the  officers  were  un- 
couth in  deportment.  "  There  was  roughness  in  their  very 
good-nature ;  and  their  talk,  where  it  was  not  made  up  of 
nautical  phrases,  was  too  commonly  made  up  of  oaths  and 
curses.  Such  were  the  chiefs  in  w^hose  rude  school  were 
formed  those  sturdy  warriors  from  whom  Smollet,  in  the  next 
age,  drew  Lieutenant  Bowling  and  Admiral  Trunion.  But 
it  does  not  appear  there  was  in  the  service  of  any  of  the 
Stuarts,  a  single  naval  officer  such  as,  according  to  the  no- 
tions of  our  times,  a  naval  officer  ought  to  be,  that  is  to  say, 
a  man  versed  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  his  calling,  and 
steeled  against  all  the  dangers  of  battle  and  tempest,  yet  of 
cultivated  mind  and  polished  manners.  There  were  gentle- 
men and  there  were  seamen  in  the  navy  of  Charles  II.  But 
the  seamen  were  not  gentlemen,  and  the  gentlemen  were  not 
seamen. "f 

From  that  period  to  the  present,  the  manner  of  doing 
almost  everything  in  the  English  navy  has  changed,  and 
there  has  been  a  steady,  though  slow,  improvement  in  the 
condition  of  all  in  the  service,  partaking  somewhat  of  the 
nature  of  the  condition  of  affairs  on  shore.  The  spirit  of  the 
age  is  in  favour  of  amelioration  and  improvement  every- 
where, and  as  intelligence  becomes  more  universal  on  land, 
it  will  extend  its  influence  over  nautical  affairs,  and  nothing 

*  Macaulay's  History  of  England.  f  Ibid. 


can  be  preserved,  simply  because  it  is  a  custom  or  usage, 
unless  it  can  be  demonstrated  to  be  intrinsically  right  and 
proper. 

To  show  the  impropriety  of  the  orders  in  question,  it  is 
asserted,  in  the  first  part  of  the  plea,  that  to  make  a  com- 
mander after  twelve  years'  service  rank  with  the  junior  cap- 
tain, or  to  make  a  lieutenant  after  twelve  years'  service  rank 
with  a  commander,  would  be  as  proper  and  just  as  to  assimi- 
late in  rank  with  commanders,  surgeons,  and  pursers,  after 
twelve  years'  date  of  commission. 

In  a  military  organization  the  lineal  grades  of  captain, 
commander,  and  lieutenant,  cannot  be  classed  with  each 
other;  they  are  necessarily  successive  in  authority,  and  there- 
fore, cannot  be  assimilated.  Their  mutual  relations  are  de- 
termined by  their  lineal  rank.  It  would  be  supererogatory 
at  least,  to  confer  assimilated  rank  on  officers  whose  lineal 
rank  already  establishes  their  positions  relatively  to  each 
other.  There  can  be  no  necessity  for  classing  in  the  same 
rank  commanders  and  captains,  or  lieutenants  and  com- 
manders; or  assistant-surgeons  and  surgeons,  because  staff 
rank  determines  the  mutual  relations  of  the  latter.  But  it 
is  not  a  consequence,  therefore,  that  it  is  either  unjust  or  im- 
proper to  confer  an  assimilated  rank  on  staff  officers  whose 
grade  and  date  of  commission  do  not  define  their  position 
relatively  to  line  officers,  i  J)"  >{  nootrto  iuM^/ta 

In  the  second  plea,  CommaTlder  U  ^  '  contends  that  the 
General  Order  (page  20),  by  giving  surgeons  "  assimilated 
rank  with  commanders,  places  them  ahove  lieutenants,  but 
not  above  commanders."  If  this  construction  be  admitted 
here,  then  the  same  Order,  which  assimilates  in  rank  "  sur- 
geons of  less  than  twelve  years  with  lieutenants,"  places 
them  above  masters,  but  not  above  lieutenants,  and  virtually 
gives  them  the  same  assimilated  rank  as  passed  assistant 
surgeons,  who  are  placed  by  the  General  Order,  "  next  after 
lieutenants."  In  a  word,  his  reading  of  the  Order  seems  to 
be  thus :  Surgeons  of  the  fleet  and  surgeons  of  more  than 
twelve  years  will  rank  "next  after  commanders;  surgeons  of 
less  than  twelve  years,  next  after  lieutenants ;  passed  assis- 
tant surgeons,  iwxt  after  lieutenants ;  or,  surgeons  of  less  than 
twelve  years,  and  passed  assistant  surgeons  will  rank  next 
after  lieutenants,  which  is  surely  not  the  import  the  author 
of  the  order  designed  to  convey. 


u 

The  construction  of  the  writer  is  that  the  words,  "  Sur- 
geons of  the  fleet  and  surgeons  of  more  than  twelve  years, 
will  rank  with  commanders,"  mean,  they  shall  rank  with 
commanders  according  to  date  of  commission  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, except  where  a  commander  is  in  legal  command 
of  a  vessel,  a  post  or  station  to  which  the  surgeon  is  attached 
for  duty,  in  which  case  the  commander  has  precedence  with- 
out regard  to  date.  On  mixed  boards,  surveys,  and  courts, 
no  officer  is,  in  fact,  in  command ;  the  authority  of  the  pre- 
siding officer  being  limited  to  directing  the  order  of  busi- 
ness, &c. 

No  additional  remark  is  necessary  to  reply  to  the  argu- 
ments recently  advanced  at  Norfolk.* 

No  one  will  fail  to  perceive  that  the  Department,  over- 
looking the  General  Order,  through  inadvertence,  in  draw- 
ing the  precept  for  the  board,  was  the  remote  cause  of  the 
question  of  precedence  being  raised  by  the  commander  and 
surgeon  on  that  occasion.  Had  the  Secretary  promptly  de- 
cided the  question,  the  controversy  would  have  been  ended ; 
but  being  left  open,  it  provoked  argument  and  fostered  a  no- 
tion that  the  Department  itself  was  indifferent  whether  its 
own  order  was  obeyed  or  not,  and  it  possibly  encouraged 
those  gentlemen  who  are  opposed  to  placing  the  staff  corps 
in  the  navy  on  any  other  footing  than  that  of  courtesy  of 
the  line,  to  make  a  second  united  effort  to  procure  an  un- 
conditional revocation  of  the  orders  in  question. 

It  has  now  been  shown,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  that 
all  the  cases  of  alleged  difficulty  and  inconvenience  have 
arisen,  not  from  assimilated  rank  in  the  navy,  but  from  diffe- 
rent modes  of  construing  the  orders  which  confer  it,  by  staff* 
officers  and  those  of  the  line. 

But  the  joint  letter  of  the  line  officers  states  that  assimi- 
lated rank  in  the  army  does  not  work  well,  and  to  sustain 
this  statement,  the  last  annual  report  (1849)  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  "War  is  incorrectly  construed  and  referred  to :  the 
report  reads  thus  : — 

"  Another  inconvenience  resulting  to  the  service  is  the  anomalous 
position  of  officers  holding  staff  commissions  which  confer  rank.  These 
officers  are  not  considered  by  established  usage  as  eligible  to  the  com- 
mand of  troops,  unless  specially  assigned,  whilst  at  the  same  time 

*  See  Appendix. 


they  claim  exemption  from  the  orders  of  their  juniors  in  the  line  who 
succeed  to  such  commands.  This  state  of  things  is  calculated  to  in- 
jure the  service,  by  a  suspension,  for  the  time  being,  of  the  functions 
of  staff  officers  in  cases  where  a  junior  line  officer  exercises  the  com- 
mand. To  obviate  which  it  is  suggested  that  a  law  be  enacted  re- 
quiring officers  of  the  general  staff,  serving  with  troops,  to  execute 
according  to  their  respective  duties,  all  orders,  emanating  from  the 
senior  officer  of  the  line  which  may  relate  to  the  discipline,  police, 
and  good  order  of  his  command,  and  for  which  he  alone  is  respon- 
sible."* 

The  joint  "communication"  says,  "These  officers,  [he  goes 
on  to  state],  though  not  eligible  by  usage  to  command  troops, 
unless  specially  assigned,  have  claimed  exemption  from  the 
orders  of  their  sufperhrs  [the  Secretary  says,  juniors  in  the 
line']  who  succeed  to  such  commands." 

A  little  examination  of  the  extract  from  the  report  of 
the  Secretary  of  War  shows  that  "  officers  holding  staff  com- 
missions which  confer  rank,"  mai/  he  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  troops,  by  order  of  the  President  or  Secretary  of 
War,  but  that  those  officers  do  not  usually  assume  command 
in  the  line,  although  thej  may  be  of  a  higher  grade  or  of  a 
senior  date  to  a  line  officer  present  in  command,  but  they 
are  unwilling  that  their  legal  rank  should  be  suspended  in 
effect,  whenever,  by  accident  or  otherwise,  a  detachment 
from  the  army  in  which  they  serve  falls  under  the  command 
of  a  line  officer  who  is  below  the  grade  of  the  line,  to  which 
the  command  of  such  detachment  or  post  may  rightfully 
belong.  It  may  be  a  debatable  question,  whether  the  expe- 
dient suggested  by  the  Secretary  is  just  to  staff  officers,  or 
whether,  if  it  be  just  to  make  their  rank  dependent  on  a 
contingency  of  service,  the  plan  proposed  will  remedy  the 
inconvenience  complained  of  The  Department  may  have  a 
remedy  without  sacrificing  the  rank  of  the  general  staff, 
simply  by  respecting  that  rank  when  it  details  officers  for  de- 
tachments, always  placing  in  command  an  officer  of  the  line 
of  sufficient  grade  and  rank  to  remove  every  plea  for  insubor- 
dination by  those  staff  officers  it  may  associate  with  him. 
If  a  captain  of  the  line  be  assigned  to  command  a  post,  let 
the  staff  officers  selected  to  serve  under  him  be  of  an  infe- 
rior grade  or  junior  rank  in  the  grade  of  captain.  Respect 
for  rank  in  the  line  always  prevents  the  Department  from 

*  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War.     November  30,  1849. 


17 

requiring  seniors  of  the  line  to  serve  under  a  junior :  it  is 
conjectured  that  a  major  of  infantry,  or  of  artillery  is  never 
required  to  serve  under  the  command  of  a  captain  of  ca- 
valry, although  that  captain,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Depart- 
ment, were  in  every  respect  better  qualified  to  command  for 
the  special  service,  than  any  major  or  lieutenant-colonel  in 
the  army.  It  may  be  presumption  in  the  writer  to  suppose 
that  the  assimilated  rank  of  staff  officers  should  be  as  much 
respected  in  the  Department  as  full  lineal  rank;  and  that 
no  description  of  rank  in  a  military  organization  should  be 
contingent  upon  circumstances. 

Among  the  general  objections  to  assimilated  rank  in  the 
navy,  the  following  statement  is  made  in  the  joint  communi- 
cation of  line  officers,  which  is  quoted  with  approbation  by 
the  author  of  "A  Few  Thoughts  upon  Rank  in  the  Navy;" 
but  its  relevancy  to  the  subject  is  not  clearly  perceived  by 
the  writer. 

"  From  the  Resolution  passed  in  July,  1777,  that  surgeons  should 
receive  the  pay  of  the  lieutenants  of  the  ships  to  which  they  respec- 
tively belonged,  and  from  the  Act  of  March  30th,  1812,  making 
pursers  commissioned  officers,  the  condition  of  both  has  been  steadily 
ameliorated.  The  establishment  of  medical  hoards  of  examination, 
by  which  the  corps  chooses  its  own  members ;  the  creation  of  the 
grade  of  fleet  surgeons ;  that  of  passed  assistant  surgeons ;  an  in- 
crease of  pay  in  1828,  seven  years  before  the  general  navy  pay  bill 
was  passed,  when  it  was  again  largely  augmented,"  kc.  &c. 

Were  the  gentlemen  familiar  with  the  general  condition 
of  medical  education  in  the  country,  it  is  believed,  they 
would  perceive  that  all  the  benefits  from  the  establishment 
of  medical  boards  of  examination  accrue  to  themselves  and 
the  service,  although  the  incidental  effect  is  undoubtedly  to 
increase  the  professional  competency  and  respectability  of 
the  medical  corps.  But  the  estabhshment  of  these  boards 
is  due  mainly  to  the  enlightened  efforts  of  the  late  Hon. 
Samuel  L.  Southard,  while  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  The 
following  extracts  are  from  his  report  on  a  naval  peace  esta- 
blishment, January  24,  1824. 

"  No  portion  of  the  present  system  requires  more  amendment  than 
the  surgical  department,  in  reference  as  well  to  the  manner  of  admis- 
sion into  it  as  the  government  and  payment  of  it.     No  one  ought  to 


78 

be  appointed  surgeon's  mate  until  after  a  satisfactory  examination, 
proving  his  competency,  and  no  mate  to  be  made  a  surgeon,  until  he 
has,  by  sufficient  service  and  another  examination,  proved  that  he  is 
worthy  of  promotion."  *  *  *  *         "This  system, 

while  it  renders  justice  to  those  who  have  performed  duty,  will,  it  is 
hoped,  induce  zeal  in  acquiring  science,  and  secure  the  active  and 
entire  services  of  skilful  men,  on  whom  so  much  of  the  comfort  and 
success  of  the  navy  depend.  Guided  by  the  reasoning  applicable  to 
the  case,  and  by  experiments  made  elsewhere,  it  is  believed  that  a 
large  saving  may  be  effected  by  detailing  one  or  more  intelligent  sur- 
geons to  purchase  the  medical  stores  and  supplies,  direct  such  as  are 
fitted  for  the  size  of  the  vessel,  and  the  nature  and  length  of  the  voy- 
age, and  guard  against  ignorance  and  extravagance  in  that  depart- 
ment."* 

But  prior  to  this  period,  the  Hon.  Smith  Thompson,  in 
December,  1819,  recommended  an  increase  of  pay,  and  an 
establishment  of  grades  for  medical  officers.     He  said : — 

"  Whether  the  compensation  now  allowed  is  sufficient  to  call  into 
the  service  talents  and  learning  which  its  importance  demands,  is  re- 
spectfully submitted.  A  division  of  these  officers  into  classes,  accord- 
ing to  the  rate  of  the  vessel  in  which  they  shall  serve,  it  is  thought 
would  be  beneficial,  and  is  suggested  for  consideration;  and  this 
would  afford  a  just  standard  by  which  to  regulate  their  pay.  The 
designation  of  some  officer  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  this  class  of 
officers,  and  who  should  have  the  immediate  superintendence  of  this 
branch  of  the  service,  under  regulations  for  that  purpose  to  be  esta- 
blished, it  is  believed,  would  contribute  much  to  the  benefit  of  the  ser- 
vice, "f 

This  may  be  regarded  as  the  history  of  the  circumstances 
which  laid  the  foundation  of  the  system  of  medical  boards 
of  examination ;  the  several  grades  in  the  medical  corps,  and 
last,  the  creation  of  the  Bureau  of  Medicine  and  Surgery. 
But  in  what  manner  these  facts  form  an  objection  to  the 
establishment  of  an  assimilated  rank  for  medical  officers  in 
the  navy,  is  not  perceived  by  the  writer. 

Another  general  argument  against  assimilated  rank  is  the 
slow  rate  of  promotion  in  the  line.  It  is  urged,  for  instance, 
that  it  is  unjust  to  assimilate  a  surgeon  or  a  purser,  after 
twelve  years'  service,  in  rank  with  a  commander,  because  an 
individual  serves  in  the  line  say  ten  years  as  midshipman, 

*  American  State  Papers.     Vol.  Naval  Affairs.  f  Ibid, 


7t 

and  twenty  years  as  a  lieutenant,  before  attaining  the  lineal 
grade  of  commander.  Under  this  view  it  was  proposed  by 
certain  line  officers,  as  previously  stated  (page  20),  that  no 
surgeon  should  attain  the  assimilated  rank  of  commander 
until  twenty  years  after  the  date  of  his  commission.  If  as- 
similated rank  conferred  authority  to  command  in  the  line, 
or  in  any  manner  interfered  with  promotion  in  the  line,  the 
argument  would  have  force.  But  if  instead  of  twelve  years, 
a  purser  were  required  to  serve  forty  years  before  attaining 
assimilated  rank  as  commander,  such  an  arrangement  would 
not  accelerate  promotion  in  the  line ;  nor  would  promotion  in 
the  line  be  retarded,  if  the  purser  were  appointed  at  once  with 
assimilated  rank,  even  as  captain.  For  the  sake  of  illustrar 
tion  an  extreme  case  is  suggested.  Suppose,  circumstances 
demand  such  increase  in  the  grades  of  captain  and  commander 
as  to  require,  by  the  rule  of  seniority,  the  promotion  of  the 
junior  lieutenant  in  the  navy  and  several  of  the  older  passed- 
midshipmen  to  the  latter  grade.  It  would  be  unavailing  to 
urge  against  such  promotion  that,  as  the  majority  of  cap- 
tains are  advanced  in  life  and  have  been  thirty-five  years 
in  the  navy,  it  would  be  unjust  to  them  to  promote  to  the 
grade  of  commander,  gentlemen  who  have  been  only  ten 
years  in  the  service.  And  supposing,  too,  that  at  the  time 
of  this  extraordinary  demand  for  officers  in  the  higher  grades, 
surgeons  attained  assimilated  rank  of  commander  after  being 
twenty  years  in  the  navy,  it  would  be  absurd  to  argue,  it 
would  be  unjust  to  them,  to  advance  any  gentleman  of  only 
ten  years'  service  to  the  lineal  rank  of  commander. 

If  assimilated  rank  as  commander  may  be  conferred  on  staff 
officers  after  twenty,  or  even  thirty  years'  service,  without 
injury  to  those  possessed  of  lineal  rank,  it  may  be  conferred 
at  any  period,  even  from  the  hour  of  appointment. 

The  author  of  "A  Few  Thoughts  upon  Rank  in  the  Navy" 
objects  to  the  admission  of  assistant  surgeons  to  the  ward- 
room mess  on  similar  grounds.  He  says,  "About  the  year 
1844,  an  order  was  issued,  that  assistant  surgeons  were  to  be 
considered  thereafter  ward-room  officers;  thus  putting  a 
marked  slight  upon  the  whole  of  that  deserving  grade  of 
officers,  the  passed-midshipmen,  who,  after  serving  a  hard 
apprenticesliip  of  ten  and  twelve  years,  were  thrust  coolly  back, 
to  make  way  for  a  new-fledged  medical  graduate." 

The  condition  of  assistant  surgeons  in  the  British  navy 


80 

has,  within  a  few  years,  attracted  attention  of  the  medical 
profession  in  England.  The  resistance  of  the  admiralty  to 
the  measures  proposed  in  behalf  of  medical  officers  has  ren- 
dered it  so  difficult  to  fill  the  grade  of  assistant  surgeons  that 
it  has  been  proposed  to  lower  the  standard  of  professional 
qualifications  for  admission  into  that  grade.  It  is  believed, 
such  a  course  would  not  be  generally  approved  in  the  navy 
of  the  United  States. 

The  writer  has  endeavoured  to  show  : 

1.  There  are,  in  fact,  no  civil  officers  in  the  navy,  or  in 
any  other  military  organization. 

2.  A  navy  may  be  divided  into  a  line  and  staff ,  like  an 
army. 

3.  The  staff"  officers  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States  have 
no  position  relatively  to  the  line,  by  law. 

4.  An  assimilated  rank  may  be  advantageously  established 
in  the  navy. 

5.  The  office  of  executive  officer,  which  is  believed  to  be 
proper,  does  not  exist,  but  should  be  estabUshed  by  law. 

6.  It  is  not  necessary  for  the  sake  of  naval  discipline,  or 
the  public  good,  that  staff*  officers  should  be  in  all  things  sub- 
ordinate to  such  executive  officer. 

7.  None  but  clearly  understood  terms  of  specific  and  ap- 
propriate meaning  should  be  employed  in  legislation  upon 
the  subject. 

8.  The  difficulties  which  have  been  attributed  to  the  Ge- 
neral Orders,  conferring  an  assimilated  rank  in  the  navy, 
are,  in  fact,  due  either  to  a  misconstruction  of  those  orders, 
or  to  a  disinclination  to  observe  them,  by  officers  of  the  line. 

CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

Those  unacquainted  with  the  details  of  military  organiza- 
tion, may  smile  at  a  controversy  on  a  question  which  seems 
to  involve,  merely  the  position  of  a  name  signed  to  a  joint 
report.  But  it  is  deemed  worthy  of  consideration,  even  in 
certain  civil  acts  of  the  government,  as  may  be  inferred  from 
the  following  extract  from  an  official  document : 

"  It  is  the  practice  of  European  governments,  in  drawing  up  their 
treaties  with  each  other,  to  vary  the  order  of  naming  the  parties,  and 
that  of  the  signatures  of  the  plenipotentiaries,  in  the  counterparts  of 
the  same  treaty,  so  that  each  party  is  j&rst  named,  and  its  plenipoten- 


-»1 

tiary  signs  first,  in  the  copy  possessed  and  furnished  by  itself.  And, 
in  treaties  drawn  up  between  parties  using  different  language^,  and 
executed  in  both,  each  party  is  first  named,  and  its  plenipotentiary 
signs  first,  in  the  copy  executed  in  his  own  language.  This  practice 
having,  on  several  occasions,  been  accidentally  or  inadvertently  omit- 
ted to  be  observed  by  the  United  States,  the  omission  was  followed  by 
a  disposition  in  the  negotiators  of  certain  Royal  European  govern- 
ments to  question  its  applicability  to  treaties  between  them  and  the 
United  States.  It  became,  therefore,  proper  to  insist  upon  it,  as 
was  accordingly  done  with  effect.  As  it  is  understood  to  involve  a 
principle,  it  is  to  be  considered  as  a  standing  instruction  to  the  diplo- 
matic agents  of  the  United  States  to  adhere  to  this  practice,  called 
'  alternate,^  in  all  cases  where  they  shall  have  occasion  to  sign,  in  their 
public  capacity,  any  treaty,  convention,  or  other  document,  with  the 
plenipotentiaries  of  other  powers." 

The  following  incident  is  pertinent  to  this  point : — 

"  In  1844,  the  Hawaaian  government  issued  a  proclamation,  esta- 
blishing a  code  of  etiquette,  in  which  the  following  order  of  prece- 
dence was  assigned  the  representatives  of  their  respective  nations : — 
1.  United  States;  2.  Great  Britain;  3.  France.  Although  some 
such  arrangement  was  necessary  in  so  jealous  a  community,  its  grave 
formality  had  rather  a  burlesque  air ;  but  the  British  government  has 
imparted  dignity  to  it  by  the  following  protest : — 

"  '  With  regard  to  the  code  of  etiquette  and  diplomatic  precedence, 
promulgated  in  July,  1844,  her  majesty's  government  regret  the 
charge  or  act  which  gives  a  fixed  and  permanent  preference  to  the 
United  States  over  Great  Britain,  upon  the  plea  of  the  prior  recogni- 
tion of  the  Sandwich  Islands  by  the  United  States,  and  require  that 
this  clause  be  forthwith  cancelled. 

" '  Her  majesty's  government  further  declares,  that  the  Commis- 
sioner of  the  United  States  unless  he  be  expressly  designated  in  his  com- 
mission as  charg^  d'affaires,  is  entitled  to  no  precedence  whatever  over 
the  British  Consul-General  at  the  Hawaaian  Islands,  under  the  regu- 
lations of  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  whether  the  commissioner  be  enti- 
tled diplomatic  commissioner  or  not.  And  I  am  commanded  to  insist 
that  the  question  of  precedence  between  the  British  and  United  States 
agent,  shall,  unless  such  agent  be  accredited  charg^  d'affaires,  be 
determined  by  priority  of  presentation  only.'  "* 

But  the  subject  of  assimilated  rank  embraces  more  than 
the  precedence  of  a  signature  to  a  report. 

*  Wandering  Sketches  of  People  and  Things  in  South  America,  Polynesia, 
California,  and  other  places  visited,  during  a  cruise  on  board  of  the  U.  S. 
ships  Levant,  Portsmouth,  and  Savannah.  By  Wm.  Maxwell  Wood,  M.  D., 
Surgeon  U.  S.  Navy.     Carey  &  Hart.  Philadelphia,  1849. 

6 


The  staff  of  the  army  has  been  given  somewhat  in  detail, 
(page  13,)  and  the  nature  of  its  duties  has  been  described. 
A  comparison  with  the  navy  in  this  respect  is  invited. 

It  may  be  asked  in  what  do  the  duties  of  the  quartermas- 
ter's department, — which  embraces  1  brigadier-general,  2 
colonels,  2  lieutenani>colonels,  7  majors,  and  31  captains,  by 
assimilated  rank;  of  the  commissariat,  which  includes  1 
colonel,  1  lieutenant-colonel,  2  majors,  and  4  captains;  of 
the  pay  department,  consisting  of  1  colonel,  1  lieutenants 
colonel,  and  25  majors, — differ  in  a  military  point  of  view,  or 
in  the  nature  of  their  respective  duties,  from  the  corps  of 
pursers  in  the  navy,  whose  official  functions  embrace  all 
those  of  the  three  army  departments  ?  Or,  what  is  to  be 
found  in  the  nature  of  the  duties  of  military  architects  and 
military  surveyors,  all  based  on  scientific  principles  daily  ap- 
plied in  civil  life,  which  renders  those  officers  more  military 
than  physicians  employed  in  military  service  ?  The  nature 
of  the  duties  of  engineers  and  topographical  engineers  is  not 
less  eminently  civil  than  that  of  the  duties  of  medical  men. 
The  engineers  repair  the  damaged  walls  of  a  fort ;  the  sur- 
geons repair  the  injured  health  and  limbs  of  the  soldiers  to 
defend  it :  the  topographical  engineers  survey  and  plot-out 
camp-grounds  and  battle-fields;  the  surgeons  judge  of  the 
healthiness  of  the  sites  in  the  one  case,  and  economise  life  in 
the  other,  by  saving  from  death  those  who,  without  medical 
aid,  would  perish  of  their  wounds.  A  confidence  in  the  pre- 
sence of  a  competent  medical  staff,  must  contribute  something 
to  the  moral  support  of  the  line,  when  on  the  battle-field. 
The  object  of  the  functions  of  all  is  a  military  result.  Then 
why  should  an  assimilated  rank  be  freely  accorded  to  those, 
and  be  given  reluctantly  to  these :  is  it  because  the  duties 
of  the  one  are  more  palpable,  more  physical  than  those  of 
the  other  class,  and  therefore  more  manifest  to  common 
observation  ? 

It  seems  to  be  now  conceded  by  the  naval  line,  that  an 
assimilated  rank  will  be  established ;  therefore  the  contro- 
versy is  reduced  to  the  question,  what  degrees  of  assimilated 
rank  shall  be  allowed  to  the  several  staff-grades  in  the  navy  ? 
On  this  question  opinions  are  various.  Those  who  contend 
for  absolute  supremacy  of  the  line,  believe  that  assimilated 
rank  should  be  of  the  very  lowest  degree  possible,  to  be 
above  the  grade  of  midshipmen ;  while  others  are  willing  to 


M 

concede  as  high  a  position  as  may  be  consistent  with  effi- 
ciency. There  are  many  who,  while  they  would  cheerfully 
yield  to  medical  officers  the  degrees  of  assimilated  rank 
asked,  object  to  pursers  being  placed  on  a  level  with  them  in 
this  respect :  and  some  have  opposed  the  wishes  of  the  medi- 
cal corps,  chiefly  on  the  ground  that  whatever  may  be 
granted  to  medical  officers  is  sure  to  be  obtained  afterwards 
by  the  pursers  also,  and,  therefore,  to  defeat  the  latter,  it  is 
deemed  sound  policy  to  oppose  the  claims  of  medical  officers ; 
and  there  are  some  who  can  perceive  that  a  controversy  set 
up  between  the  two  corps  on  their  respective  pretensions, 
would  be  advantageous  to  the  wishes  of  the  opponents  of 
both.  The  labour  or  difficulty  of  separating  the  opposing 
arguments  from  mere  invidious  assertions  and  conflicting 
prejudices,  the  earnest  expression  of  which  is  in  some  mea- 
sure due  rather  to  the  desire  for  victory  in  the  controversy, 
than  the  positive  value  set  upon  the  object  in  dispute,  espe- 
cially by  the  line,  has  been  an  obstacle  to  the  demonstration 
of  the  truth,  and  consequently  to  the  settlement  of  all  points 
really  involved  in  the  discussion. 

The  medical  officers,  after  having  from  time  to  time  sub- 
mitted the  subject  for  discussion  to  the  navy  and  to  Congress, 
since  1816,  without  a  final  decision,  have  brought  it  to  the 
notice  of  their  professional  brethren,  and  in  the  language  of 
one  of  the  pamphlets,  have  "  excited  the  sons  of  Galen,  from 
one  end  of  the  Union  to  the  other."  In  this  they  have  imi- 
tated the  medical  officers  of  the  British  navy,  who  finding 
the  admiralty  (a  body  resembling  the  ancient  Board  of  Navy 
Commissioners,)  disregarded  the  order  in  council,  of  January 
23,  1805,  which  says,  "the  rank,  pay,  and  designation,  shall 
be  the  same  for  the  medical  officers  of  both  land  and  sea 
forces,"  have  brought  the  voice  of  the  medical  profession  of 
England  to  their  support.  And  sooner  or  later  the  effect 
will  be  seen. 

For  the  details  of  assimilated  rank  in  the  British  navy  the 
joint  "communication"  of  the  line  refers  to  the  Queen's  Re- 
gulations of  1844.     The  arrangement  there  is  as  follows: 

"  The  director-general  of  the  medical  department  of  the  navy,  to  rank 
mth  but  after  commodores. 

"  Medical  inspectors  of  hospitals  and  fleets,  to  rank  with  but  after 
captains  under  three  years'  seniority. 


m 

"  Deputy  medical  inspectors  of  hospitals  and  fleets,  to  rank  with  but 
after  commanders. 

"  Surgeons,  to  rank  with  but  after  lieutenants. 
"Assistant-surgeons,  to  rank  with  but  after  mates." 

The  line  of  tlie  British  navy,  as  a  general  rule,  is  filled 
from  titled  and  aristocratic  families ;  and  the  staff  chiefly,  if 
not  entirely,  from  the  families  of  merchants  and  tradespeople. 
It  is  therefore  probable  that  more  or  less  of  the  caste  feelings 
and  prejudices  of  civil  life  are  carried  into  the  military  ser- 
vice, and  for  this  reason,  the  assimilated  rank  has  been  placed 
as  low  as  possible,  consistent  with  efficiency.  An  effort  is 
being  made  to  elevate  the  rank  of  assistant  surgeons;  and  it 
will  succeed,  or  the  standard  of  medical  qualifications  will  be 
reduced.  Without  a  change  in  this  respect  vacancies  in  the 
grades  of  medical  officers  cannot  be  filled,  unless  the  rank 
and  condition  of  assistant  surgeons  in  the  British  navy  be 
improved. 

Since  the  above  was  in  type,  "The  Lancet,"  London, 
August  10,  1850,  has  been  received.  Under  the  head 
"  Naval  Assistant  Surgeons"  is  the  following : — "  We  publish 
the  first  instalment  that  is  to  be  paid  to  the  naval  assistant 
surgeons,  and  we  hope  soon  to  be  able  to  announce  the 
liquidation  of  their  claims  in  full.  The  position  of  the 
assistant  surgeons,  now  serving,  will  be  considerably  im- 
proved ;  but  the  best  men  of  the  schools  will  not  enter  the 
service  till  all  probationary,  alias  '  apprenticeship,'  time  be 
abolished." 

"  Circular  No.  65,  (Rank  and  Position  of  Assistant  Sur- 
geons,) Admiralty,  July  17,  1850,"  addressed  "to  all  Flag- 
officers  and  Commanding-officers  of  H.  M.  ships  and  vessels," 
is  published  in  the  Lancet.  This  order  divides  assistant 
surgeons  of  the  royal  navy  into  two  classes.  The  first  class 
consists  of  those  who  have  completed  three  years'  service, 
and  have  been  examined  and  approved  for  promotion ;  it 
corresponds  with  the  class  of  passed-assistant-surgeons  in 
the  navy  of  the  United  States,  except  that  the  latter  serve 
five  years  prior  to  examination.  The  second  class  comprises 
all  those  who  have  not  completed  three  years'  service. 
Those  of  the  first  class  rank  next  to  naval  instructors  and 
mess  with  the  ward-room  officers,  and  are  allowed  cabins 
when  the  space  on  board  will  admit.  Therefore,  according 
to  the  Queen's  Regulations,  passed-assistant-surgeons  in  the 


85 

royal  navy  rank  with  but  after  lieutenants,  and  not  after 
"  mates,"  as  heretofore. 

The  example  afforded  in  the  Queens'  Regulations  should 
not  be  a  rule  for  the  arrangement  of  our  naval  service.  To 
imitate  a  foreign  nation  in  any  particular  is  an  acknowledg- 
ment, so  far,  of  the  superiority  of  the  nation  imitated. 

The  medical  officers  of  the  navy  ask  to  be  placed  on  a  level 
with  medical  officers  of  the  army  of  the  United  States.  The 
medical  corps  of  the  army  consists  of  the  following  grades : 

Colonel,  Surgeon-General.* 

Major,  Surgeons. 

Captain,  Assistant-surgeons  of  5  years'  standing. 

First  Lieutenant,   Assistant-surgeons. 

The  grades  of  the  navy  which  correspond  in  relative  rank 
with  the  above,  are  captain,  commander,  lieutenant,  and 
master. 

A  clear  definition  of  the  position,  each  individual  of  a  mili- 
tary organization  is  to  occupy  relatively  to  others,  is  essential 
to  successful  and  harmonious  operation.  It  is  the  basis  of 
discipline. 

To  explain  or  illustrate  the  form  of  a  law,  to  establish  an 
assimilated  rank  for  the  several  staff  corps  in  the  navy,  the 
following  is  submitted  as  a  suggestion  for  consideration. 

The  officers  of  the  navy  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
divided  into  a  line  and  staff. 

The  line  shall  be  of  the  undermentioned  denominations, 
and  shall  rank  and  take  precedence  in  the  following  order : 
Captains,  commanders,  lieutenants,  masters,  &c.,  naming  all 
grades  of  the  line  in  proper  order  of  succession.  Right  to 
command  in  the  line  shall  be  restricted  to  the, abovfe. grades, 
and  in  the  order  named.  i'ld  oi  need  -ind 

The  staff  shall  consist  of  corps  of  the  undermentiolied  de- 
nominations, and  shall  take  precedence  in  the  following  order 
— medical  corps,  and  others  to  be  named  in  a  proper  sequence. 

Assimilated  rank  of  staff  officers  shall  determine  their 
subordination  to  officers  of  the  line. 
!  Assimilated  rank  of  the  medical  staff  shall  be  as  follows: 

Hospital  and  fleet  surgeons  shall  rank  as  captains  from 
date  of  appointment. 

*  The  present  surgeon-general  holds  the  brevet  rank  of  brigadier-general ; 
but  this  belongs  to  him  as  a  personal  distinction,  and  does  not  pertain  to  his 
office  as  chief  of  a  staff  department. 


Surgeons  shall  rank  as  commanders,  passed  assistant  sur- 
geons shall  rank  as  lieutenants,  and  assistant  surgeons  shall 
rank  as  masters.  But  the  assimilated  rank  thus  established 
shall  not  confer  a  right  to  exercise  command  in  the  line  of 
the  naval  service  under  any  circumstances  whatever.  Pre- 
cedence between  staff  officers  and  officers  of  the  line,  as  well 
as  between  officers  of  the  same  grade,  shall  be  determined 
by  the  dates  of  their  respective  commissions. 

In  a  similar  manner  the  assimilated  rank  of  the  corps  of 
pursers,  of  chaplains,  of  engineers,  &c.,  should  be  defined  in 
detail. 

It  is  believed  a  law  framed  in  the  above  manner  would 
place  the  medical  staff  of  the  navy  on  a  footing  with  the 
medical  staff  of  the  army,  and  at  the  same  time  render  it 
impossible  for  any  member  of  the  medical  staff  to  legally 
interfere  in  the  duties  of  line  officers,  or  take  away  any  just 
and  necessary  right  to  command.  While  officers  seek  assimi- 
lated rank,  they  do  not  desire  to  escape  from  proper  subordi- 
nation to  line  officers  in  command;  but  they  claim  that 
assimilated  rank  shall  be  operative  on  all  mixed  boards,  sur- 
veys, courts,  processions,  &c.,  according  to  date  of  commis- 
sion. If  the  knowledge  of  a  surgeon,  for  example,  renders 
him  necessary  in  the  constitution  of  a  mixed  board,  for  a 
special  purpose,  his  military  position  should  not  be  proscribed 
because  he  is  a  physician ;  but  he  should  be  presiding  officer 
on  such  board  if  his  commission  be  older  than  that  of  the 
other  officers  associated  with  him  on  the  board,  no  matter 
whether  they  be  of  the  line  or  staff. 

In  conclusion,  the  writer  begs  to  assure  the  gentlemen 
whose  remarks  he  has  freely  and  fully  quoted,  that  his  object 
has  been  to  bring  fairly  into  view  the  various  arguments  on 
both  sides  of  the  question.  Even  in  his  attempts  to  contro- 
vert their  opinions  and  views,  which  he  believes  are  sincerely 
entertained,  he  disclaims  all  intention  of  discourtesy  or  un- 
kindness  towards  them  or  those  who  think  with  them.  He 
desires  a  decision  which  shall  be  in  its  provisions  satisfactory 
to  all  reasonable  and  reflecting  men,  and  at  the  same  time 
conducive  to  the  general  discipline  and  efficiency  of  the  naval 
service.  If  he  has  fallen  into  error  of  opinion  or  judgment, 
on  any  point,  he  will  cheerfully,  when  it  is  demonstrated, 
amend  or  recant,  as  the  case  may  require. 

An  appendix  has  been  added,  containing  several  papers  at 


87 

length,  in  order  that  the  whole  subject  might  be  fairly  before 
the  reader,  and  that  he  may  see  that  those  referred  to  in  the 
text  have  been  truly  represented. 

Finally,  the  writer  begs,  in  taking  leave  of  the  subject, 
to  adopt  the  sentiments  of  the  concluding  paragraph  of 
Pamphlet  No.  1.  The  author  says  : — "  We  cannot  conclude 
without  expressing  a  hope  that  what  we  have  felt  it  our 
duty  to  say  will  not  be  taken  in  an  unkind  spirit  by  the 
class  whose  rights  and  aims  we  have  so  freely  discussed. 
We  are  closely  allied  with  many  of  them  by  long  and 
eventful  associations,  full  of  those  kindly  sentiments  and 
touching  memories  that  dangers  and  hardships  and  the 
varied  adventures  of  naval  life,  shared  in  common,  are  apt 
to  inspire,  and  we  are  sure  they  will  unite  with  us  in  the 
hope  that,  irrespective  of  our  conflicting  opinions  and  claims, 
the  question  of  assimilated  rank  will  be  decided  on  the  broad 
ground  of  equity  and  public  utility." 

Philadelphia,  SejpUm'ber,  1850. 


¥8 


-IW 


APPENDIX. 


a  *>U    ilkW  O: 
LETTER  FROM  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY  TO  COMMODORE  BOLTON. 


"Com.  Wm.  C.  Bolton, 

Commanding  TJ.  S.  Squadron, 
Coast  of  Africa. 

"  Sir  :  Your  despatch,  No.  36,  of  the  30th  December,  1847,  with 
its  enclosures,  has  been  received  and  considered. 

"  The  question  raised  by  Lieutenant  Reid,  and  the  disposition  made 
of  it,  have  alike  excited  my  surprise.  The  terms  of  the  general  order 
are  explicit,  and  admit  of  no  doubtful  interpretation — and  the  con- 
clusion at  which  you  arrived,  as  well  as  the  reasons  given,  admit  of 
no  other  interpretation,  than  that  you  did  not  deem  it  expedient  to 
enforce  the  general  order  of  the  Department. 

"  It  is  not  possible  to  conceive  a  case  in  which  the  propriety  of  the 
order  could  be  more  apparent.  In  an  inspection  of  provisions,  a 
Sea  Lieutenant  claims  precedence  over  a  Purser  of  older  standing 
in  the  service  according  to  date  of  commission. 

"  There  was  no  right  of  military  command  claimed  by  the  Purser, 
and,  if  necessary,  orders  to  the  few  men  employed  could  as  well  have 
been  given  by  the  Lieutenant  as  a  junior,  as  if  he  were  the  senior 
member  of  the  board. 

"  The  Department  has  no  doubt  that  Lieutenant  Reid  assumed  a 
precedence  over  Purser  Heiskell,  directly  in  contravention  of  the 
regulation ;  and  on  all  future  occasions,  you  will  be  pleased  to  execute 
the  order  according  to  its  letter  and  spirit. 

"  I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.Y.Mason.'* 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  ON 
ASSIMILATED  RANK. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  American  Medical  Association  held  at  Balti- 
more, May  4,  1848,  Dr.  Cohen,  of  Baltimore,  presented  the  follow- 
ing resolutions,  which  were  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Medical  Association  regards  with 
pride  and  satisfaction  the  services  rendered,  and  the  position  main- 


90 

tained  by  that  portion  of  their  profession  associated  with  the  Military 
Department  of  the  country ;  and,  in  consideration  of  the  severe  and 
arduous  duties  which  the  medical  officers  have  performed — the  risks 
and  dangers  to  which  they  have  been  exposed,  in  the  performance  of 
those  duties,  during  a  period  of  warfare,  and  in  an  unhealthy  climate 
— it  is  deemed  just  and  proper,  by  this  Association,  that  their  ser- 
vices should  receive  from  the  Government  an  acknowledgment  cor- 
responding to  that  awarded  their  brother  officers. 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  body  hereby  express  their  grati- 
fication with  the  position  recently  assigned  the  medical  officers  of  the 
Navy;  and  that  their  influence  will  be  used  to  sustain  their  Naval 
brethren  in  a  position,  alike  due  to  them  and  the  profession  of  which 
they  are  members. 

JResolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  the 
Secretaries  of  War  and  of  the  Navy,  through  the  Chiefs  of  the  Medi- 
cal Department  of  each  service,  and  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Military 
and  Naval  Committees  in  each  House  of  Congress. 

The  following  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  was  received 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  Association : 

"  Navy  Department,  May  10,  1848. 

"  Gentlemen  : 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the 
5th  instant,  enclosing  a  copy  of  resolutions  adopted  by  the  '  Ameri- 
can Medical  Association,'  at  its  late  annual  session  in  Baltimore. 

"Appreciating  the  valuable  services  of  the  Medical  Officers  of  the 
Navy,  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  place  on  the  records  of  the  De- 
partment, the  just  and  kind  notice  taken  of  them,  by  so  enlightened 
and  respectable  a  body  of  their  fellow-citizens  as  the  ^American  Medi- 
cal Association.' 

"  I  am,  very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 
^  M  .„...,.....,^T  i„  "J.  Y.  Mason. 

"Messrs.  Alfred  Stille:— H.  J.  Bowditch, 

*'  Secretaries  '  American  Medical  Association.'  " 


At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Medical  Society, 
in  Philadelphia,  April  17, 1850,  Dr.  Jackson  presented  a  series  of  reso- 
lutions relative  to  the  assimilated  rank  of  Medical  officers  in  the  Navy 
which  was  granted  in  1846  by  order  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
In  the  Army,  it  is  granted  by  a  law  of  Congress.  Many  officers  of 
the  line  in  the  Navy  are  now  attempting  to  degrade  Medical  officers 
by  depriving  them  of  that  assimilated  rank.  The  following  resolutions 
were  adopted,  and  ordered  to  be  forwarded  to  the  War  and  Navy 
Departments,  and  to  the  Chairman  of  the  War  and  Navy  Committees 
in  both  Houses  of  Congress. 

Resolved,  That  the  State  Medical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  cannot 


91 

regard  with  indifference  the  condition  and  position  assigned  to  memhers 
of  the  profession,  who  are  included  in  the  military  organizations  of  the 
country ;  and,  therefore,  regards  with  satisfaction  the  law  which  con- 
firms the  assimilated  rank  of  Medical  officers  in  the  Army,  previously 
conferred  by  the  regulations  of  the  War  Department. 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  State  Medical  Society  of  Penn- 
sylvania approve  of  the  General  Order  issued  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  August  31st,  1846,  which  assigns  to  Medical  officers  in  the 
Navy  an  assimilated  rank ;  and  that  their  influence  will  be  used  to 
sustain  their  naval  brethren  in  a  position  alike  due  to  them  and  to 
the  profession  of  which  they  are  members. 

Resolved,  That  inasmuch  as  the  Medical  officers  of  the  Army  have 
been  assigned  an  assimilated  rank  by  law,  it  is  right  and  proper  that 
the  Medical  officers  of  the  Navy  should  also  be  assigned  a  definite 
rank  by  act  of  Congress,  and  this  body,  therefore,  respectfully  and 
earnestly  invites  the  attention  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represen- 
tatives of  the  United  States  to  the  subject. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  the 
Secretaries  of  War,  and  of  the  Navy,  through  the  chiefs  of  the  Medical 
Department  of  each  service  ;  and  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Military  and 
Naval  Committees  in  each  House  of  Congress. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  MEDICAL  ASSOCIATION, 

At  the  Third  Annual  Meeting,  held  at  Cincinnati,  May,  1850. 

Dr.  M'Guire,  of  Va.,  offered  the  following  Preamble  and  Resolu- 
tions, which  were  unanimously  adopted. 

Whereas,  in  every  properly  organized  community  governed  by 
military  laws,  every  member  of  it  should  possess  a  recognised  position ; 
as  no  military  organization  can  be  efficient  and  complete  without  in- 
cluding a  corps  of  competent  surgeons ;  as  the  value  of  their  services 
depends  in  a  great  measure  upon  the  degree  of  respect  accorded  to 
them :  the  common  interests  of  our  country  and  of  our  profession 
demand,  that  the  legal  position  of  medical  men  in  the  army  and  navy, 
should  be  such  as  will  secure  them  due  consideration  by  their  military 
associates,  independently  of  a  contingent  courtesy ;  and  as  efforts  are 
now  being  made  to  deprive  medical  officers  in  the  navy  of  the  relative 
position  or  assimilated  rank  conferred  by  a  General  Order  of  the  Navy 
Department,  it  concerns  the  honour  of  the  whole  profession,  to  assist 
its  members  in  the  navy  to  obtain  and  secure  an  assimilated  rank  by 
law.     Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Medical  Association  is  gratified  by 
the  legislation  of  Congress  which  has  conferred  military  rank  on 
medical  officers  of  the  army,  as  it  places  them  on  an  equality  with 
officers  of  the  several  staff  departments,  and  thus  gives  them  a  posi- 
tion to  which  the  importance  and  dignity  of  the  profession  they  repre- 
sent entitles  them ;  and  it  is  earnestly  desired  that  Congress,  in  its 


92 

present  session,  will  extend  the  same  privileges  and  immunities  to 
medical  officers  in  the  navy. 

Resolved^  That  the  members  of  the  American  Medical  Association 
will  exert  their  influence  to  sustain  the  just  pretensions  of  their  bre- 
thren to  an  assimilated  rank  in  the  military  organizations  of  the  coun- 
try ;  and  they  would  view  with  feelings  of  deep  mortification  a  propo- 
sition from  any  source  to  deprive  the  medical  officers  of  the  army  of 
any  of  the  privileges  or  powers  secured  to  them  by  the  act  of  Congress 
approved  11th  February,  1847,  a  law  which  confers  upon  them  a  pro- 
tective or  conservative  rank,  and  enables  them  to  discharge  their 
duties  more  effectually. 

Resolved^  That  the  members  of  the  American  Medical  Association 
hear  with  regret  that  several  naval  commanders  have  disregarded  the 
General  Orders  of  the  Navy  Department,  which  place  medical  officers 
on  an  equality  of  rights  and  privileges,  (except  military  command) 
with  other  officers  in  the  navy ;  and  they  consider  such  resistance 
of  the  authority  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  an  assumption  which 
cannot  be  sanctioned  by  enlightened  men  of  the  present  age,  and 
should  at  once  be  put  down  by  public  opinion  and  by  the  authority  of 
the  government. 

Resolved^  That  a  definite  position  or  assimilated  rank,  not  inferior 
to  that  possessed  by  the  medical  staff  of  the  army,  should  be  assigned 
by  law  to  medical  ofl^cers  in  the  navy,  and  therefore  that  the  attention 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  be, 
and  is  hereby  invited  to  the  subject. 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to  the 
Secretaries  of  War  and  of  the  Navy,  through  the  Chiefs  of  the  Medical 
Department  of  each  service  and  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States. 


At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey,  held 
at  New  Brunswick,  May  14th,  1850,  the  following  Preamble  and 
Resolutions  were  adopted,  viz. : — 

Whereas,  it  is  a  manifest  duty,  that  organized  medical  bodies  should 
exercise  a  proper  influence  for  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  such 
regular  members  of  the  Profession  as  are  necessarily  detached  from 
the  great  body  of  their  brethren ;  and,  whereas,  many  of  the  medical 
officers  included  in  the  military  organizations  of  the  country  are 
placed  in  this  condition ;  and  whereas,  we  have  heard  with  regret, 
that  there  is  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  a  portion  of  the  naval  service, 
to  deprive  medical  men  connected  with  that  Department  of  the  bene- 
fits arising  from  an  assimilated  rank,  conferred  by  a  General  Order  of 
a  late  Secretary  of  the  Navy.     Therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  "New  Jersey  State  Medical  Society"  regards 
with  much  pleasure  the  successful  efforts  of  the  "Navy  Boards,"  in 
raising  the  standard  of  literary  and  medical  knowledge,  for  an  admis- 
sion to  their  ranks. 


93 

I  Resolved^  That  this  Society  is  also  much  pleased  to  learn,  that  in 
their  system  of  examinations  the  Diplomas  of  the  schools  (which  are 
now  but  too  easily  obtained)  are  wholly  disregarded ;  and  that  the 
moral  character  of  the  candidate,  and  his  scientific  and  professional 
attainments,  are  his  only  passports  to  the  medical  corps  of  the  navy. 

Resolved,  That  this  Society  cannot  look  with  indifierence  on  any 
attempt  to  depress  or  degrade  a  whole  class  of  public  officers,  belong- 
ing to  a  liberal  profession,  and  so  indispensable  in  the  proper  organi- 
zation of  the  navy  of  their  country. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  well-defined  "Assimilated  Rank"  has  been 
assigned  to  medical  officers  of  the  Army,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  dated 
Feb.  11th,  1847,  this  Society  cannot  believe,  that  an  invidious  dis- 
tinction will  be  made  between  the  Medical  Departments  of  the  Public 
service ;  but  that  the  National  Legislature  will  protect  the  Surgeons 
and  Assistant  Surgeons  in  their  just  claims  to  a  Nominal  Rank,  or  a 
social  position,  as  respectable  among  the  other  grades  of  the  Navy,  as 
the  Medical  Staff  of  the  Army  now  enjoy  bi/  law,  in  relation  to  their 
brethren  of  the  Line,  in  that  service. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  through  the  Chief  of  the  Medical  Department ; 
and  also  that  a  copy  be  forwarded  to  the  chairman  of  the  Naval  Com- 
mittee, in  each  house  of  Congress. 

W.  PiERSON,  M.D.,  Rec.  Sec.  of  Med.  Soc.  N.  Jersey. 

'    New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  May  14th,  1850. 

,\  At  the  semi-annual  meeting  of  the  Erie  County  Medical  Society  in 
the  State  of  New  York,  held  in  the  city  of  Buffalo,  June  12,  1850, 
it  was,  on  motion  of  Dr.  Austin  Flint, 

Resolved,  That  this  Society  recommend  to  the  members  of  the 
medical  profession  of  this  county,  for  their  signatures,  the  memorial 
to  Congress  in  behalf  of  the  medical  officers  of  the  navy,  praying  for 
an  assimilated  rank,  believing  that  the  action  on  the  part  of  the 
National  Legislature  asked  for,  is  due,  not  only  to  the  Medical 
Department  of  the  navy,  but  to  the  character  of  the  medical  profession 
generally. 

Resolved,  That  this  resolution  be  published,   and  that  copies  be 
transmitted  to  the  representatives  in  Congress  from  this  district,  and 
to  the  Senators  from  this  State. 
From  the  regular  minutes. 

John  S.  Trowbridge,  Sec'y. 


The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted 
by  the  "  Medical  and  Chirurgical  Faculty  of  Maryland,"  at  its  Con- 
vention, held  June  5,  1850  : 

Whereas,  Success  in  the  medical  profession  requires  intelligence, 
sound  morality,  and  competent  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  medi- 


94 

cine,  as  well  as  liberal  education :  and  whereas,  humanity  and 
patriotism  alike  demand  that  all  our  fellow-citizens  who  serve  the 
republic  in  the  army  and  navy  should  be,  when  sick  or  wounded, 
accompanied  by  physicians  as  well  instructed  as  any  our  country 
affords:  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  critical  examination  of  candidates  for  admission 
into  the  medical  departments  of  the  army  and  navy  tends  to  the  im- 
provement of  medical  education,  and  to  secure  competent  medical 
officers  in  the  military  service  of  the  country. 

Resolved,  That  properly  qualified  members  of  the  medical  profes- 
sion are  socially  the  equals  of  members  of  any  branch  of  the  army 
and  navy,  and  therefore  should  be  assigned  by  law  a  respectable  posi- 
tion in  every  military  community. 

Resolved,  That  the  "Medical  and  Chirurgical  Faculty  of  Mary- 
land" regards  with  approbation  the  law  of  the  United  States  which 
confers  military  rank  upon  medical  officers  of  the  army,  because  it 
secures  them  an  equality  of  rights  and  privileges  with  officers  of  other 
staff  departments. 

Resolved,  That  the  "  Medical  and  Chirurgical  Faculty  of  Mary- 
land" earnestly  recommend  that  a  similar  law  be  enacted  by  Congress 
to  place  officers  of  the  medical  department  of  the  navy  on  an  equality 
of  rights  and  privileges  with  other  officers  of  this  branch  of  the 
national  defence. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Faculty  be,  and  is  hereby, 
directed  to  transmit,  immediately,  copies  of  these  resolutions,  properly 
signed  by  the  officers  of  the  Faculty,  to  the  Secretaries  of  War  and 
of  the  Navy,  through  the  Chiefs  of  the  Medical  Department  of  each 
service  at  Washington,  and  to  the  President  of  the  Senate,  and 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States,  in 
order  that  the  attention  of  Congress  may  be  invited  to  the  subject. 
From  the  minutes. 

Wm.  H.  Davis,  Sec'y. 


COKRESPONDENCE  BETWEEN  COMMODORE  — AND  PURSER 

S F . 

"  United  States  Ship , 

«  Monterey,  October  21st,  1848. 

"Sir: 

"  It  has  occurred  to  me,  that  you  may  have  overlooked  the  exist- 
ence of  a  General  Order  of  the  Navy  Department,  dated  May  27, 
1847,  conferring  certain  rank  on  Pursers,  as  your  order  of  this 
date  placing  me  on  a  survey,  (which  has  been  promptly  and  cheer- 
fully obeyed)  appears  to  me  to  conflict  with  it. 

"I  do  not  consider  this  a  proper  occasion  to  express  any  opinion  as 
to  the  expediency  of  the  order  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  He 
has  thought  proper  to  issue  it,  and  I  respectfully  submit  the  subject 


M 

for  your  consideration,  requesting  you  to  take  such  action  in  it  as  you 
may  deem  best. 

"Very  respectfully,  &c., 


Commodore , 

*<  Commanding  United  States  Naval  forces, 
"Pacific  Ocean." 


«S F , 

"Purser,  U.S.N. 


"United  States  Ship , 

"San  Francisco,  August  17th,  1849. 

"  Sir  : 

"I  had  hoped  ere  this  to  have  received  an  answer  to  my  communi- 
cation to  you  of  the  21st  October  last,  a  duplicate  of  which  is  here- 
with enclosed. 

"In  again  calling  your  attention  to  the  subject  of  it,  I  beg  leave  to 
remark  that  the  General  Order  of  the  Navy  Department,  of  27th 
May,  1847,  conferring  rank  on  Pursers,  has  been  as  entirely  disre- 
garded on  board  this  ship  since  I  have  been  attached  to  her,  as  if  it 
had  never  been  issued. 

"Very  respectfully,  &c., 


"  Commodore , 

"Commanding  United  States  Naval  forces, 
"Pacific  Ocean." 


S F , 

"Purser,  U.  S.  N, 


LETTER  OF  COMMODORE 


TO  S F ,  ESQ.,  PURSER,  U.  S.  SHIP . 

San  Francisco,  August  18th,  1849. 
Sir: — Your  letter  of  yesterday's  date,  inclosing  a  duplicate  of 
yours  to  me  of  the  21st  of  October,  1848,  and  asking  my  reply 
thereto,  is  received. 

I  have  not  unintentionally  deferred  answering  your  first  appeal :  on 
the  contrary,  I  have  several  times  taken  up  the  circular  of  the  27th 
of  May,  1847,  to  which  your  letter  refers,  but,  for  the  life  of  me,  such 
is  its  ambiguity  that  I  am  unable  to  give  to  it  any  practical  con- 
struction conformable  with  well-established  military  principles,  one 
of  the  most  stable  of  which  is,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  that 
non-combatants  never  command  regular  officers  of  the  line  under  any 
circumstances  whatever.  If  there  is  anything  clearly  expressed  in 
the  circular  in  question,  it  is  that  the  assimilated  rank  conferred 
thereby  does  not  carry  authority/  to  exercise  military  command,  nor 
give  additional  right  to  quarters. 

In  my  judgment,  then,  all  that  the  circular  of  May  27th,  1847, 
confers  on  non-combatants  in  the  navy  is  the  assimilation  of  rank  in 
society  when  off  duty,  and  such  I  am  informed  (unofficially)  was  the 
decision  of  the  late  Secretary,  Judge  Mason,  when  applied  to  by 


96 

Purser  B ^,  serving  on  the  Portsmouth  station ;  any  other  con- 
struction given  to  the  rule  would  be  productive  of  endless  confusion  in 
actual  service  ;  an  officer's  rank  and  privileges  would  come  and  go  as 
often  as  he  stepped  in  or  out  of  a  boat,  or  from  one  ship  to  another 
in  the  same  squadron. 

The  circular  speaks  of  "commanding  and  executive  officers:''  ^'no 
such  rank  or  grade  as  executive  officers  is  known  to  the  law — every 
officer,  whatever  may  be  his  grade  or  rank  in  the  navy,  charged  with 
the  performance  of  any  particular  duty,  becomes  an  "  executive  offi- 
cer" while  he  is  executing  the  orders  of  a  superior.     At  the  date  of 

your  original  letter,  October  21st,  1848,  Mr.  J W ,  one  of 

the  senior  Pursers  in  the  navy,  then  attached  to  the  Lexington  store- 
ship,  by  the  assimilated  rank,  ranked  second  in  this  squadron,  and 

above    Commander   S ,   one  of  the   senior   commanders  of  tho 

navy,  and  according  to  the  construction  claimed  by  some  of  the  non- 

combatants^  Purser  W would  take  precedence  of  all  commanders 

and  lieutenants  in  the  squadron,  except  his  immediate  commanding 
officer,  a  lieutenant  nearly  one  hundred  from  the  head  of  the  list,  and 
the  first  lieutenant  of  the  Lexington,  one  of  the  juniors  of  his  grade ; 
this  would  be  the  case  in  any  assemblage  of  officers  that  might  have 
been  required  on  board  the  Lexington.  Thus  you  w^ould  see  the  senior 
commander  in  the  squadron  ranked  by  a  purser,  while  that  purser 
would  be  ranked  by  the  junior  lieutenant  in  the  navy.  Again,  a 
midshipman  sent  in  charge  of  a  boat,  to  carry  surveying  officers  from 
one  ship  to  another,  or  on  any  other  duty,  is  an  "  executive  officer,'' 
and  according  to  the  letter  of  the  circular  under  consideration,  he 

would  rank  Purser  W ,  but  Purser  W would  rank  all  other 

officers  of  the  squadron  that  might  happen  to  be  in  one  of  the  Lexing- 
ton's boats ;  and  here  again  another  difficulty  arises  in  attempting  to 
carry  out  your  construction  of  the  circular,  as  rank  and  command 
would  then  be  governed  more  by  the  boat  or  particular  vessel,  than 
by  commission  or  length  of  service  in  the  navy,  for  commanding  offi- 
cers^ as  well  as  executive  officers,  are  merely  temporary  and  accidental 
positions^  varying  and  changing  from  day  to  day,  and  from  hour  to 
hour. 

^'  The  captain  of  a  ship  is  her  "  commanding  officer"  when  on  board ;  the 
moment  he  goes  over  the  ship's  side,  if  but  for  an  hour,  the  officer  next 
in  rank  becomes  the  '^  commanding  officer"  and  it  might  be  a  second 
lieutenant  in  the  absence  of  the  first,  who  with  other  officers  were 
holding  a  survey,  which  convened  w^hile  the  captain  and  first  lieutenant 
were  on  board,  at  the  head  of  which  survey  the  senior  purser,  accord- 
ing to  assimilated  rank,  would  claim  to  preside ;  the  moment  the  cap- 
tain and  first  lieutenant  leave  the  ship,  the  second  lieutenant,  or  officer 
of  the  line  next  in  rank,  becomes  the  commanding^  and  executive  officer 
too,  of  that  vessel,  and  although  he  may  have  been  the  junior  member 
and  a  purser  the  senior  on  the  survey  while  the  captain  was  on  board, 
as  soon  as  the  captain  leaves,  the  junior  member  rides  over  the  senior, 


97 

but  drops  back  again,  possibly  three  or  four  times  in  the  course  of  one 
forenoon.  Apply  the  rule  as  construed  by  yourself  and  some  other 
non-combatants,  to  surveys,  courts-martial,  and  any  other  mixed  ser- 
vice, and  nothing  but  strife  and  confusion  can  possibly  grow  out  of  it. 
I  shall  submit  the  case  to  the  Honourable  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
and  ask  his  construction  of  the  rule. 
Very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 


Commander-in-Cliief  U.  S.  Naval  Forces,  Pacific  Ocean. 


It  has  been  noticed  already  that  the  commodore  recognises 
the  existence  of  "  ojficers  of  the  line"  in  the  navy,  and  de- 
signates the  staff  of  the  navy  by  the  term  "  non-combatants." 
The  existence  of  a  "  medical  staff/'  by  name,  was  recognised 
by  the  Honourable  Levi  "Woodbury,  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
in  March,  1832.  At  that  time,  he  promulgated  "  Rules  of 
the  Navy  Department  regulating  the  civil  administration  of 
the  Navy  of  the  United  States,"  which  was  a  compilation 
^'from  the  various  orders,  circulars,  regulations,  and  de- 
cisions," which  were  found  "  dispersed  over  the  records  and 
files  of"  the  Department.  Chapter  xlvi.,  p.  41,  of  this  com- 
pilation, commonly  known  as  the  "Red  Book,"  is  headed 
"  Medical  Staff,"  and  embraces  certain  rules  for  the  gui- 
dance of  medical  ofiicers  in  the  navy,  dated  1821,  1823, 
1829,  (fee.  This  precedent,  it  is  presumed,  might  be  sufficient 
to  authorise  the  use  of  the  term  staff,  in  place  of  that  of 
nonrcambatants. 

The  General  Order  does  not  mean,  in  fact,  to  exclude 
pursers  from  miliiary  command,  if  the  writer's  definition  of 
the  term  (page  8)  be  correct,  but  to  exclude  them  entirely 
from  command  in  the  line,  which  they  do  not  require,  except 
only  in  case  of  being  placed  in  charge  of  a  division  of  the 
crew,  or  when  supervising  the  supply  of  powder  during 
battle,  from  the  magazine  to  the  battery. 

The  notion  of  the  commodore  that  the  assimilated  rank 
conferred  on  pursers  is  only  operative  in  "  society  when  off 
duty,"  is  untenable.  However  observant  officers,  when  off 
duty,  might  be  of  the  rules  prescribed  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment for  social  intercourse,  it  is  not  probable  their  authority 
would  be  acknowledged  by  society,  either  at  home  or  abroad. 
If  he  means  to  confine  his  application  of  the  word  "  society"  in 

7 


98 

this  instance,  to  officers  of  the  navy  exclusively,  his  notion 
is  equally  untenable,  because  there  is  not  an  absolute  neces- 
sity for  the  Navy  Department,  to  issue  General  Orders  to  go- 
vern the  unofficial  acts  of  officers :  when  they  are  off  duty  or 
unemployed,  they,  like  citizens  generally,  conduct  themselves 
by  the  commonly  received  rules  of  politeness  and  courtesy. 
It  is  not  presumed,  he  understands  that  assimilated  rank,  is 
operative  among  officers,  only  during  their  social  intercourse 
at  mess-table,  &c.  j/ua.:-  o 

The  writer  is  gratified  to  find  the  commodore  sustains 
his  opinion,  that  there  is  "  no  such  rank  or  grade  as  execu- 
tive officer  known  to  the  law,"  and  that  there  can  be  but  one 
commanding  officer  or  officer  in  command  on  board  ship. 
The  commodore's  illustrations  show  that  the  term  "com- 
manding officer,"  in  the  General  Order,  was  designed  to  de- 
signate the  officer  left  in  command  during  the  temporary 
absence  of  the  captain ;  and  that  no  other  exception  should 
have  been  made  in  the  operation  of  assimilated  rank. 

It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  officers  may  act  in  two  ca- 
pacities at  the  same  instant  of  time.  While  a  senior  or  first 
lieutenant  of  a  ship  is  serving  as  a  member  of  a  court,  or 
of  a  board  of  survey,  he  does  not  act  as  first  lieutenant ;  but 
simply  as  a  member  of  the  court  or  survey,  although  he  re- 
sumes his  duties  as  first  lieutenant  while  said  court  or  survey 
is  not  in  session.  While  acting  as  a  member  of  a  court,  his 
position  relatively  to  other  members  of  the  same  court  is  de- 
termined by  their  lineal,  or  assimilated  rank,  as  the  case 
may  be,  compared  with  his  own,  the  office  of  first-lieutenant 
being  merged,  for  the  time,  in  that  of  member  of  the  court. 

Illustrations  of  the  principle  may  be  found  in  civil  life. 
A  citizen  may  be  president  of  one  society  or  board,  vice-pre- 
sident of  a  second,  secretary  of  a  third,  and  member  of  a 
fourth ;  but  he  cannot  be  recognized  as  president  in  but  one 
of  the  four.  The  same  member  of  Congress  may  occupy 
two  or  more  official  posts,  and  hold  a  relative  position  in 
each :  he  may  be  chairman  of  a  standing  committee,  and 
member  of  one  or  two  other  committees,  but  his  relative 
position  as  chairman  in  one  committee  does  not  affect  his 
position  as  a  member  in  the  others,  or  prevent  him  from 
acting  as  presiding  officer  in  "  committee  of  the  whole," 
either  of  the  Senate  or  House. 


99 


NORFOLK  PLEA. 


Navy  Yard, ,  July  29,  1850. 

Sir  : — The  pursers  and  surgeons  wlio  claimed  precedence  of  certain 
sea-officers,  on  the  formation  of  a  procession  on  the  25th  inst.,  at  this 
yard,  having  been  required  by  you  to  state  their  ground  for  such 
claim  in  writing,  with  the  view  to  sending  them  to  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, it  occurs  to  the  undersigned  that  it  is  right  and  proper  that 
their  reasons  for  objecting  to  the  pretension  of  those  officers  should 
also  be  set  forth.  We  therefore  beg  leave  respectfully  to  say,  that 
we  were  there  on  duty  as  commanding  and  executive  officers,  and  did 
not  contest,  nor  was  there  occasion  for  contesting  the  legality  of  the 
orders  issued  by  Messrs.  Bancroft  and  Mason.  These  two  orders 
expressly  state  that  "  all  commanding  and  executive  officers,  of  what- 
ever grade,  when  on  duty,  will  take  precedence  over  all  medical 
officers  and  pursers,"  and  that  "surgeons  and  pursers"  of  more  than 
twelve  years  will  rank  with  "commanders:"  but  they  do  not  say 
they  shall  in  any  event  take  precedence  of  "  commanders,"  command- 
ing or  executive  officers.  In  the  event  of  a  commanding  or  executive 
officer  being  called  to  the  performance  of  duty,  such  as  taking  part  in 
the  recent  ceremonies,  it  cannot  be  justly  contended  that  they  are 
therefore  to  be  deprived  of  their  rights  and  privileges  as  such.  Yet 
those  officers  of  the  medical  and  purser's  corps  have  so  construed  the 
orders  as  to  exempt  themselves  from  a  compliance  with  their  terms  as 
above  cited.  It  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  cite  here  a  case.  For 
instance:  a  necessity  for  the  service  of  a  ship  arises,  whose  com- 
mander or  executive  officer  may  be  absent  from  her  "on  duty,"  can 
it  be  imagined  that  the  secretaries  who  gave  those  two  general  orders 
designed  that  any  of  the  officers  attached  to  such  ship  should  be 
exempted  from  the  obligation  to  obey  the  order  of  his  commanding  or 
executive  officer,  or  that  such  commanding  or  executive  officer  should 
give  an  order  to  one  who  ranked  him  ?  We  feel  assured  that  such 
an  effect  of  any  general  order  could  never  have  been  contemplated. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  we  beg  leave  to  say,  that  we  do  not 
recognize  the  right  of  any  individual,  nor  of  any  other  power  than 
Congress,  to  deprive  us  of  the  rank,  which  has  been  conferred 
upon  us  by  the  joint  action  of  that  body  and  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  by  every  act  classifying  officers  from  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  of  1776,  down  to  the  present  time.  We  therefore 
deny  the  right  of  any  surgeon  or  purser  in  the  Navy  to  take  rank  or 
precedence  of  a  commander  under  any  circumstances  whatever. 
We  have  the  honour  to  be,  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servants. 

Signed,  ,  Comm'der. 

,  Comm'der. 

,  Comm'der. 

Com. ,  Com'g  Navy  Yard . 


100 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  previously  advanced,  on  the 
construction  of  the  General  Orders,  it  may  be  remarked  here, 
that  the  words  "all  commanding  and  executive  officers,  of 
whatever  grade,  when  on  duty,  will  take  precedence  over  all 
medical  officers  and  pursers,"  are  susceptible  of  a  different 
meaning  from  that  given  above.  The  import  of  this  part  of 
the  order  is  that,  while  an  officer  is  acting  as  "  commanding 
officer"  during  the  temporary  absence  of  the  captain,  he  will 
have  precedence  precisely  as  if  he  were,  in  fact,  a  captain 
without  reference  to  his  grade;  and  also,  while  an  officer 
is  acting  as  "executive  officer,"  he  will  have  precedence 
without  regard  to  his  grade,  which,  while  he  so  acts,  is 
merged  in  the  office  of  executive  officer.  But  it  is  not  sup- 
posed to  mean,  gentlemen  can  be  "  commanding  officers"  in 
a  procession,  even  in  the  presence  of  a  common  superior, 
or  that  the  functions  of  "executive  officer"  of  a  ship  are 
carried  into  a  funeral  procession,  and,  therefore,  such  officer 
may  claim  precedence.  It  seems  to  the  writer,  that  the 
design  of  this  part  of  the  order  was  to  give  precedence  of 
staff-officers,  without  reference  to  their  seniority,  to  any  lineal 
officer  while  actually  in  command  of  a  vessel  to  which  said 
staff-officers  are  attached  for  duty,  for  the  very  purpose  of 
meeting  the  case  suggested  above. 

The  term  "commanding  officer"  in  the  General  Order  is 
applicable  only  to  one  temporarily  in  command.  The  com- 
modore sustains  this  construction.  He  virtually  contends 
that  a  midshipman,  placed  temporarily  in  command  of  a  boat 
to  convey,  for  instance,  a  party  of  staff-officers  on  shore  to 
participate  in  a  procession,  is,  for  the  time,  both  an  executive 
and  a  commanding  officer ;  and  under  the  extensive  construc- 
tion of  the  term  in  the  above  letter,  the  same  midshipman 
would  be  entitled,  in  a  procession,  to  precedence  of  the  senior 
staff-officer  of  the  service. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  "'  commanding  and  execu- 
tive officers"  can  take  part  in  a  ceremonial  procession; 
the  moment  they  leave  the  precincts  within  which  they 
are  "commanding  and  executive  officers"  their  functions 
cease.  The  executive  officer  of  a  ship,  for  example,  is 
not  executive  officer  of  any  other  ship  or  vessel  on  board 
of  which  he  may  visit.  The  functions  of  executive  officer 
are  not  transferable  in  the  same  individual  from  place  to 
place,  or  from  ship  to  shore,  wherever  he  may  go.     If  a  first 


101 

lieutenant  or  executive  officer  has  any  rank  other  than  that 
of  his  lineal  grade,  it  is  purely  a  "  local  rank,"  and  is  operar 
tive  exclusively  in  the  vessel  to  wliiQh^Ji.e"J3  att^cKed,  and 
then  only  in  the  line  of  the  duties  of  the  office. 

The  above  remarks,  and  the  iRttot"' upoii  wMcch  •:ghey,are 
made,  show  the  importance  of  stating  all  orders  and  laws  in 
such  terms  as  are  susceptible  of  one  meaning  only.  The 
gentlemen  who  sign  the  letter  are  doubtlessly  sincere  in  their 
views,  and,  therefore,  are  entitled  to  commendation  for  their 
attempts  to  sustain  them. 


NOTICE  OF  SEKVICES  OF  THE  MEDICAL  STAFF  OF  THE  NAVY  DURING 
THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 

Extract  from  the  Report  of  Eon.  J.   Y.  Mason,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy.     December  6,  1847. 

"  During  the  past  season,  I  regret  to  state,  sickness  has  prevailed 
with  much  violence  in  the  Gulf  Squadron,  and  at  the  places  occupied 
by  our  naval  forces  along  the  coast.  Many  valuable  officers  and  men 
have  fallen  under  the  ravages  of  fever.  But  it  is  a  source  of  great 
satisfaction,  that  the  number  of  deaths  has  been  small  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  cases  of  yellow  fever,  and  of  fever  of  other  malig- 
nant type.  No  class  of  officers  has  suffered  greater  proportionate 
loss,  than  the  medical  corps  of  the  Navy.  Their  heroic  devotion  to 
their  professional  duties  has  received,  as  it  deserved,  the  warm  and 
grateful  commendation  of  their  commanding  officer ;  and  while  their 
skill  and  their  attention  rescued  from  death  an  unprecedentedly  large 
proportion  of  their  patients,  the  anxiety  and  exposure,  incident  to 
their  arduous  duty,  left  them  without  the  strength  to  resist  the  disease 
when  themselves  attacked.  Some  of  the  most  accomplished  of  their 
highly  meritorious  corps  have  fallen  victims  to  the  disease  of  the 
season."      i««'Ai^'I  ■.'' 

' "/  "  "  United  States  Flag  Ship  Germantown, 

"«f>v  "Vera  Cruz,  September  6th,  1847. 

"  Sir, — I  am  again  called  upon  to  announce  to  the  Department, 
the  death  of  another  valuable  officer  of  the  Squadron  :  Passed- Assist- 
ant-Surgeon  J.  Howard  Smith,  breathed  his  last  yesterday  evening 
at  the  Naval  Hospital. 

''  The  death  of  this  and  the  other  medical  officers,  may  in  part,  be 
ascribed  to  the  extraordinary  anxiety  and  labour  to  which  they  were 
subjected  in  their  attendance  upon  the  sick;  worn  out  in  body,  though 
not  in  zeal  and  courage,  they  had  not  sufficient  strength  to  bear  up 
against  the  effects  oi  disease  when  it  came  upon  them. 

"Doctor  Smith  was  attached  to  the  steamer  'Spitfire,'  and  volun- 
teered with  Doctor  Hastings,  of  the  'Mississippi,'  to  take  charge  of 
the  sick  at  the  Hospital,  when  Dr.  Thornly  was  taken  with  the  fever. 

"Words  cannot  express  my  feelings,  on  seeing  these  devoted  men 


stricken  down  as  they  have  been  by  the  epidemic,  from  the  fatal 
malignancy  of  which  their  pwn  incessant  labours  and  watching,  by 
night  and  by  day,^  Jl8^fV3.T5avGd  so  many. 

"As  a  proof  of  the  noble  self-devotion  of  Doctor  Hastings,  an 
exam  bid  wcrijij  '  <ilso^' the  character  of  his  lamented  companion  Dr. 
Smith,  I 'subjoin' an  extr'act  from  the  '  Sick  Report'  of  the  31st  ult. 
"I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  great  respect,  sir, 
"Your  obedient  servant, 

"M.  C.  Pekry, 

"Commanding  Home  Squadron. 
"  To  Hon.  John  Y.  Mason, 

"Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington." 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE  OF 
MARYLAND. 

^' Maryland^  Set, 

"  At  a  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland,  begun  and 
held  at  the  city  of  Annapolis,  on  the  last  Monday  of  December,  being 
the  thirty-first  day  of  the  said  month,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-nine,  and  ended  the  tenth  day  of 
March  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty. 

"  His  Excellency,  Philip  F.  Thomas,  Esquire,  Governor. 

"  Among  others,  the  following  resolution  was  adopted,  to  wit : 

"By  the  Senate,  February  25th,  1850. 
"  Whereas,  responsive  to  an  order  of  the  Senate  of  the  7th  day  of 
January,  1850,  calling  for  copies  of  letters  on  file  in  the  Navy  De- 
partment at  Washington,  relative  to  the  gallant  and  meritorious  con- 
duct of  Commander  Franklin  Buchanan  and  Surgeon  Ninian  Pinkney, 
of  the  United  States  Navy,  in  the  late  Mexican  war ;  the  following 
copies  of  letters  have  been  received  from  the  Honourable  Secretary 
of  the  Navy : 

"  Navy  Department,  February  18,  1848. 

"  Sir  : — Your  letter  of  the  15th  instant,  reporting  your  arrival 
with  the  U.  S.  Ship  Germantown,  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  on  your 
way  to  Norfolk,  has  been  received.  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  say 
that  you  have  served  in  command  of  the  Germantown  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  Department. 

"  It  also  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  enclose  to  you  a  copy  of  a 
letter  from  Commodore  Perry,  of  the  11th  ultimo,  which  is  placed  on 
the  files  of  the  Department.  Commander  Charles  Lowndes  will  be 
ordered  to  relieve  you.  On  his  reporting,  you  will  regard  yourself  as 
detached  from  the  command  of  the  Germantown,  with  a  leave  of 
absence  for  three  months,  at  the  expiration  of  Wiich  you  will  report 
to  the  Department. 

"  I  am  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.  Y.  Mason. 

"Commander  Franklin  Buchanan, 
_■  "Comd'g.  U.  S.  Ship  Germantown,  Norfolk,  Va. 


103 

"Navy  Yard,  Vera  Cruz,  January  11,  1848. 
"  Sir  : — The   return   of   Commander  Franklin  Buchanan  to  the 
United  States,  and  his  probable  detachment  from  my  command,  gives 
me  an  opportunity  of  testifying  to  the  Department,  the  high  opinion 
I  entertain  of  the  merits  of  that  excellent  officer.     Setting  an  exam- 
ple in  his  own  person  of  promptitude,  cheerfulness,  and  obedience  in 
the  execution  of  all  orders,  he  exacts  the  same  qualities  from  those 
under  him,  and  I  do  him  no  more  than  justice  in  saying  that  for 
courage,  energy,  and  judgment  he  has  not,  in  my  opinion,  a  superior 
in  the  service.     Commander  Buchanan  has  headed  detachments  from 
his  own  ship  in  the   expeditions  to  Tuspan   and  Tobasco,  and  was 
among  the  most  forward  on  all  occasions  of  duty  and  gallantry. 
"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  great  respect,  sir, 
"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"M.  C.  Perry, 

"Commanding  Home  Squadron. 
"Hon.  J.  Y.  Mason,  '.  ^     ^ 

"Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington.  /"^  ." 

"  Navy  Yard,  Vera  Cruz,  January  14,  1848. 
"  Sir  : — I  have  great  pleasure  in  expressing  to  the  Department  the 
high  opinion  I  entertain  of  the  professional  skill  and  valuable  service 
of  Surgeon  Ninian  Pinkney,  who  has  relieved  Surgeon  McClenahan, 
in  the  Germantown.     I  was  particularly  indebted  to  Dr.  Pinkney  for 
his  exertions  and  attention  to  the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  expedition 
to  Tobasco ;  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  he  deservedly  enjoys  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  every  officer  and  man  in  the  squadron. 
"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  great  respect,  sir, 
"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"M.  C.  Perry, 

"  Commanding  Home  Squadron. 
"  Hon.  J.  Y.  Mason, 

"Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington. 

"  And,  whereas.  The  General  Assembly  of  Maryland  are  satisfied 
from  these  testimonials  and  other  high  sources  of  information,  of  the 
gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  of  those  officers  in  their  official  posi- 
tions; Therefore, 

'''Resolved  unanimously  hy  the  O-enerdl  Assembly  of  Maryland, 
That  the  State  of  Maryland  entertains  a  just  appreciation  of  the 
gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  of  the  above-named  officers,  in  the 
late  Mexican  war,  and  that  the  thanks  of  the  State  of  Maryland  be 
and  they  are  hereby  tendered  to  them  for  said  conduct. 

*'  Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be  respectfully  requested  to  forward 
copies  of  the  resolutions  to  each  of  the  above-named  officers. 

"  Copy  of  the  Governor's  letter  accompanying  the  above  resolu- 
tions : 


m 


*' State  Department, 

Annapolis,  June  3d,  1850. 

"  Sir  : — I  have  the  honour  herewith  to  forward  to  you  the  accom- 
panying preamble  and  resolutions  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Mary- 
land, passed  at  the  December  session,  1849,  expressive  of  its  high 
appreciation  of  your  gallantry  and  meritorious  conduct  in  the  late 
war  with  Mexico. 

"  I  avail  myself  of  the  occasion  to  assure  you  of  my  most  cordial 
concurrence  in  the  sentiments  contained  in  these  resolutions. 
"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  high  consideration, 
"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Philip  F.  Thomas. 

"Commander  Feanklin  Buchanan,  U.  S.  N. 


LIST  OF  PAMPHLETS,  ETC.,  ON  ASSIMILATED  RANK. 

An  exposition  of  the  unjust  and  injurious  relations  of  the  United 
States  Naval  Medical  Corps.  By  a  member.  8vo.,  pp.  22.  John 
Murphy,  Baltimore,  1842. 

An  inquiry  into  the  necessity  and  general  principles  of  re-organiza- 
tion of  the  United  States  Navy,  with  an  examination  of  the  true 
sources  of  subordination.  By  an  observer.  John  Murphy,  Balti- 
more, 1842. 

Hints  on  the  Re-organization  of  the  Navy,  including  an  examina- 
tion of  the  claims  of  its  civil  officers  to  an  equality  of  rights.  Wiley 
&  Putnam,  New  York,  1845. 

Change  for  "  Hints  on  the  Re-organization  of  the  Navy."  Thomas 
Smith,  Printer,  New  York  1845. 

A  reply  to  "  Hints  on  the  Re-organization  of  the  Navy."  Febru- 
ary, 1845. 

Examination  of  "  A  reply  to  '  Hints  on  the  Re-organization  of  the 
Navy.'  "     Wiley  &  Putnam,  New  York,  1845. 

Letter  by  Commander  L.  M.  Goldsborough,  "  In  behalf  of  the  sea- 
officers  concurring  in  the  sentiments  of  this  communica^tion,  including 
himself,"  addressed  to  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  27th  Janu- 
ary, 1848. 

An  examination  of  the  legality  of  the  General  Orders,  which  confer 
assimilated  rank  on  officers  of  the  civil  branch  of  the  United  States 
Navy.     By  a  Surgeon.     Philadelphia,  1848. 

Observations  on  certain  objections  to  the  General  Order  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  conferring  assimilated  rank  on  the  surgeons 
and  pursers  of  the  Navy.     By  Walter  Jones.     Washington  1848. 

An  appeal  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  poncerning  the 
relative  rank  of  the  medical  officers  and  pursers  of  the  navy.  By 
Ninian  Pinkney,  Surgeon  U.  S.  N.     Baltimore,  February,  1850. 

Assimilated  rank  in  the  navy.  A  reply  to  an  appeal,  by  Ninian 
Pinkney,  Surgeon  U.  S.  N.,  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
relative  to  the  rank  of  surgeons  and  pursers.     By  a  junior  sea-officer. 


105 

Assimilated  rank  in  the  navy,  its  injurious  operation  upon  the  dis- 
cipline, harmony,  and  general  good  of  the  naval  service. 

Reply  to  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject  of  "Assimilated  Rank,"  re- 
ferred to  in  a  memorial  submitted  to  the  Secretary  by  sundry  line- 
officers  of  the  navy.     March,  1850. 

Remarks  on  relative  rank  in  the  navy. 

A  few  thoughts  upon  rank  in  the  navy.     Philadelphia,  1850. 

The  "Southern  Literary  Messenger"  for  1843  and  1846;  the 
"Medical  Examiner"  and  the  "Medical  News"  for  1843,  contain 
articles  bearing  on  the  subject. 


A  memorial  was  addressed  to  Congress  by  the  medical 
officers  of  the  navy,  December,  1844,  praying  for  an  assimi- 
lated rank. 

In  January,  1848,  the  pursers  of  the  navy  presented  a 
memorial  to  Congress,  on  the  subject  of  assimilated  rank, 
from  which  the  following  is  an  extract : 

"  FKOM  THE  REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  NAVAL  AFFAIRS, 
SUBMITTED  TO  THE  SENATE,  MAY,  1838. 

"There  are  few  officers  on  whose  fidelity  and  skill  the  public 
interests  depend  more  than  on  the  Pursers.  The  office  requires  great 
industry,  care,  and  experience.  Without  these,  neither  their  cha- 
racter nor  the  public  interests  can  be  safe.  Their  responsibility,  in 
taking  care  of  the  public  property  and  keeping  and  disbursing  large 
sums  of  money,  is  great.  They  are  a  substitute  for,  and  perform  the 
duties  of,  several  officers  in  the  army,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  accom- 
panying documents ;  they  give  large  bonds  of  $25,000  for  the  faith- 
ful performance  of  their  duties;  they  have  not  before  them  any 
higher  rank  to  which  time  and  correct  conduct  may  carry  them ; 
they  must,  like  other  officers,  hold  themselves  in  readiness  for  absence 
from  home,  and  cannot  enter,  at  any  time,  with  any  hope  of  success, 
into  other  employments  from  which  profit  may  arise ;  they  are  associ- 
ated, both  at  home  and  abroad,  with  other  naval  officers,  and  subjected 
to  the  proper  and  necessary  expenses  of  such  associations ;  their 
responsibility  is  pecuniary.  They  are  subjected  to  the  rules  and 
regulations  of  the  service,  and  must  obey  as  others  do,  or  meet  the 
penalty  of  disobedience.  But  they  do  not  deal,  ordinarily  and  offi- 
cially, in  the  management  and  care  of  our  yards  and  ships,  nor  with 
the  conflicts  of  battle,  although  they  are  sometimes  thus  employed  ; 
and  there  are  some  illustrious  instances  in  which  they  have  acquired 
high  honour,  by  mingling  in  these  as  voluntary  aids  in  hours  of 
danger.  The  duties  of  a  Purser  are  peculiar  and  complicated;  no 
young  and  inexperienced  man  can  perform  them  without  hazard  to 
himself  and  the  public  interests ;  they  require  a  proper  apprenticeship. 
With  adequate  capacity  and  acquirements,  it  is  true  that  they  may  be 

8 


106 

discharged  on  a  limited  scale  (and  in  small  vessels)  by  those  who  are 
not  trained;  but  intrust  them  to  the  inexperienced,  and  the  conse- 
quences may  be  eminently  cause  of  regret. 

"A  Purser  performs,  in  all  situations  *in  service,'  the  duties  of 
three  distinct  grades  in  the  army ;  viz. :  Paymaster,  Quartermaster, 
and  Commissary  ;*  they  have  upon  their  shoulders  not  only  the  re- 
sponsibility, but  the  positive  duties  of  them  all.  It  may  certainly 
with  great  truth  be  said,  that  in  the  army  there  is  no  corresponding 
rank  with  a  Purser  in  the  navy ;  for  it  is  really  the  case  that  Pursers 
have  no  rank  at  all,  with  regard  to  their  comparative  duties.  How- 
ever, it  becomes  only  necessary  to  put  the  following  plain  questions : 

"  1st.  Are  not  the  duties  of  a  paymaster  confined  strictly  to  paying 
every  two  months,  or  at  other  periods,  the  officers,  non-commissioned 
officers,  and  privates  of  his  district:  and  is  not  that  duty,  as  con- 
nected with  the  naval  branch  of  the  service,  performed  by  a  Purser, 
wherever  he  may  be  stationed  ? 

"2d.  Does  not  the  duty  of  a  commissary  of  subsistence  consist 
exclusively  in  the  receipt  and  expenditure  of  provisions  ?  and  is  not 
this  another  duty  which  devolves  upon  a  Purser  ? 

"  3d.  Who  is  the  officer  in  the  army  appointed  to  receive  and  issue 
the  public  clothing?  is  it  not  the  Quartermaster?  and  is  not  that 
duty  performed  by  a  Purser  in  the  navy  ? 

"The  Committee  believe  that  there  has  seldom,  in  this  or  any 
other  country,  been  a  more  correct  and  valuable  class  of  officers." 


P.  S.  Certain  captains  disregard,  or  are  ignorant  of  the  provisions  of  the  law  which 
re-organized  the  Navy  Department  in  1842.  They  countermand  the  orders  of  the 
chiefs  of  bureaus,  or  modify  them  to  suit  their  own  special  views,  with  as  much 
self-possession,  as  if  the  5th  sect,  of  the  law,  approved  August  31,  1842,  did  not 
exist.  Space  here  does  not  permit  an  exhibition  of  the  spirit  of  grandeur  which 
characterizes  certain  recent  circulars  and  orders  which  have  appeared  in  different 
squadrons,  not  only  in  defiance  of  law  and  good  sense,  but  also  of  courtesy  to  supe- 
rior officers,  namely,  the  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  and  the  chief 
of  the  Bureau  of  Provisions  and  Clothing.  Example  in  obedience  is  far  more  efficient 
in  military  organization  than  precept.     Let  the  Department  look  to  it. 


ERRATA, 


In  naming  the  several  codes  of  regulations,  page  19,  the  writer  over- 
looked the  ^' Naval  Regulations,  issued  by  command  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  January  25,  1802,"  and  the  "Red  Book"  of 
1832.  The  code  of  1802  rested  solely  on  the  authority  of  the  President. 
Some  of  its  provisions  are  incorporated  in  the  Blue  Book  of  1818;  but  it  is 
chiefly  remarkable  for  the  imperfection  of  its  language. 

Page  22,  line  8  from  top,  for  "is,"  read  "are." 

Page  26,  line  15  from  top,  erase  the  comma  after  the  word  ^^officers.'^ 

*  All  these  officers  have  rank. 


TABLE   OP   CONTENTS, 


Resolution  of  Mr.  Evans,       -            -            -            -            -  -       4 

Letter  of  Mr.  Evans,  note,            -----  4 

The  terms  sea-officers,  petty-officers,  warrant-officers,  forward-officers, 

civil-officers,  considered,       -            -            -             -            -  -        5 

Military  terms,     -------  7 

Military  men,  military  law,  martial  law,  military  command,  defined,  -        8 

Military  discipline  and  rank,  defined,         -             -            ,            -  9 

Staflf,  and  staff  duties  defined,  -             -             -            -             -  -      11 

Staff  of  the  army  of  the  United  States,      -            -            -            -  12 

Staff  rank  defined,       -             -             -             -             -             -  -      13 

Assimilated  rank  defined,  -             -             -             -             -     .       -  14 

Relative  rank,  and  precedence  defined,              .             -             -  -      15 

Division  of  the  navy  into  a  line  and  staff,               -             -             -  16 

History  of  the  application  for  assimilated  rank,            -             -  -      17 

Codes  of  naval  regulations,            .-.-.,  19 

General  orders  conferring  assimilated  rank,     -             -             -  -      20 

Objections  to  assimilated  rank  examined,  -             -             -             -  21 

Extract  from  the  law  of  1800  relative  to  prize-money,              -  -      32 

Navy  Commissioners*  letter  on  rank  of  surgeons  and  prize-money,  -  33 

Blue  Book,  not  authority  in  law,  -                    -             -             -  -      35 

Office  of  first  lieutenant  or  executive  officer,           -             -             -  38 

Mortality  on  board  of  the  Macedonian,             -             -             -  -      45 

Steam-engineers,  -------49 

Assimilated  rank,  public  advantage  of,             -            -            -  -      52 

Uniform-dress,      -             -            -             -             -             -            -  55 

Practical  inconvenience  of  assimilated  rank  considered,            -  -      60 

The  term  non-combatant,  ------  63 

Alleged  case  of  difficulty  in  the  Gulf  squadron,            -            -  -      65 

Misconstruction  of  Dr.  Pinkney's  statement,  -  -  -  66 
Question  of  precedence  on  the  Board  for  devising  rules  for  the  Naval 

Academy,    -            -            -             -             -             --  -68 

Legality  of  General  Orders  considered,     -            -            -            -  69 


108 

Immemorial  usage,      -  -  -  --  -  -.-71 

Origin  of  naval  usage,       ------  72 

Staff  rank  should  be  respected  in  the  Department,        -             -             -  76 

Establishment  of  naval  medical  boards,     -            -            -            -  77 

Length  of  service  in  the  line,  not  an  argument  against  assimilated  rank,  78 

Precedence  of  diplomatists,     -             -             -             -             -             -  80 

Rank  of  medical  staff  in  the  British  navy,              -             -             -  83 

Rank  recently  conferred  on  passed-assistant-surgeons  of  the  Royal  navy,  84 

Form  of  a  law  for  establishing  assimilated  rank,           -             -             -  85 


APPENDIX. 

Letter  of  Hon.  J.  Y.  Mason,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  to  Commodore 

Bolton,     -            -            -            -            -            -             -    •        .  89 

Opinions  of  the  medical  profession,          -             -             -             -  89' 

Resolutions  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  1848,        -            -  90 

''                          "              "              "           1850,             -  91 
^^          of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Medical  Society.          -             .90 

"          of  the  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey,            -             -  92 

"          of  the  Erie  County  Medical  Society,  New  York,  -             -  93 

"          of  the  Medical  and  Chirurgical  Faculty  of  Maryland,  93 

Letters  of  Purser  S — —  F ,        .            .            -            -            -  94 

Letter  of  Commodore ,     -----  96 

The  ^' Red  Book," 97 

Comments  upon  the  letter  of  Commodore ,            -            -  97 

Norfolk  plea,             -------  99 

Comments  upon  the  Norfolk  plea,            -            -            -            -  100 

Services  of  the  naval  medical  staff  in  the  Mexican  war,          -             -  101 
Proceedings  of  the  Legislature  of  Maryland  relative  to  Commander 

Buchanan  and  Surgeon  Pinkney,   -----  102 

List  of  pamphlets  on  assimilated  rank,     -             -             -'            -  104 

Duties  and  position  of  pursers,          -----  105 

Errata, -             -  106 

Table  of  contents,     -------  107 


'^KP 


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